Overmyth
by ReadingForever
Summary: One timeline appears to be an anomaly in the fabric of time and space. What happens in that timeline? Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of All Monsters, appears out of nowhere in the house of a human.
1. Start of the Line

**Good evening. I'm reposting this story from Archive Of Our Own to this website, and taking the chance to tweak and rewrite the story a bit. Unfortunately, this website has several flaws regarding formatting and the such. The story originally has GIFs and other minor details added into the text, which will have to be eliminated in order to be posted here.**

 **The story also has been written up to Chapter Twelve, 46523 words, the rewriting process will be one chapter each two days. Here are the tags, dear reader:**

 **Characters: Asriel Dreemurr, Light Blue Soul (Undertale), Orange Soul (Undertale), Blue Soul (Undertale), Purple Soul (Undertale), Green Soul (Undertale), Yellow Soul (Undertale), Frisk (Undertale), Neutral Gender Protagonist OC**

 **Rating: General**

 **Those tags may change according to the story's progress. So, I think that is all there was needed to be said, so here we go.**

* * *

The void was glowing.

It was like the sparkling stones on the ceiling of the caverns in Waterfall, but instead of being embedded in stone the lights were spread around the void. There was also a noise like static, faint but recognizable. If Asriel focused, he swore he could hear the echoes of voices resonating in the void.

Asriel wasn't sure what was going on, all he knew was that he was scared. In a sudden burst of static some of the shapes gathered, forming a hand, floating in the air while incomprehensible murmurs sounded from somewhere in the void. If he could have moved, Asriel would have ran away, but the void had no direction to run. Everything was disorienting, and the only landmark was that seemingly endless golden thread glowing way over his head. The hand shook, as if it was trying very hard to keep the shape, and gently pushed Asriel backwards. The contact produced a weird reaction; it was as if something was pulling from Asriel to some direction of the void.

It was too much for him to understand, the monster prince fainted out of fright. He didn't see the hand dissolving, the specks falling into the void, nor the static fading into silence. Asriel would never find out how exactly he got out of the void.

It was better that way.

-ooooo-

Five days remained.

The first day was a day like any other. There was nothing special, no big thunder or a sudden earthquake or anything, and for most of the world that would remain like just another day in their lives. There was one single exception, though.

That exception strolled into their kitchen, sleepily going through the normal morning routine. There was nothing special that day to do, no plans or deadlines to meet. Just a day to do nothing of importance, lazing around and having nothing else to do other than waiting for it to end. Breakfast was simple, mostly a sandwich of random ingredients found around. The smell of warm cocoa filled the house, and once breakfast was ready the human took it all to the dining table, sipping the cocoa.

Without any thought in mind they sat and stretched their legs, finally noticing the one change in their house. The human froze, feeling more awake now. There was something under the dining table, and with some caution they peered underneath to see if they had left something there the night before. They stared for a few seconds before straightening and slowly standing up and walking to a window.

"...there's a goat under the table"

They said that to the glass, mostly to confirm how absurd that sounded, and despite the completely strange situation they said that in the most dull and unsurprised tone they could manage. That was how they usually talked, that is how it had been for years. Their house could have burned to the ground and the only comment would have been 'well that's a bummer'.

Still, there was a creature underneath the table, so they focused back onto the situation. There were no horns but that was the first animal that came to their mind. After making sure they hadn't added some abnormally strong liquor to their cocoa the human returned to the table, ready to find out what was going on. "Hey. H-Hey, you. Wake up...?" What does one say when one morning you suddenly find a weird creature in the house?

There was no answer. The goat was unconscious, maybe? The human timidly prodded it, once again no reaction. But it felt so...alive. Grabbing its clothes they dragged it from under the table until it was in plain sight.

It was the strangest thing they had ever seen in their life, but the human couldn't avoid feeling some pity for it. It had the size of a child, it seemed pretty young. Anthropomorphic infant goats appearing out of nowhere, this was going to be a day to remember. Carefully the human lifted it, looking around to see where to put them. The floor was no place to rest, of course. The only option around was an armchair; since they lived alone there was no couch or large furniture in the living room.

It was an awkward sight. At least it was alive, so the situation wasn't really _that_ bad. Surely once it woke up everything would be alright, wouldn't it? Telling that to themselves over and over they ate their breakfast, watching intently for any signs of the goat waking up.

It took a while but the goat child started to twitch, like it was slowly waking up from a bad dream. The human held their breath and froze, unsure of what would happen now. What reaction will it have when it sees it's in an unknown place? They aren't prepared to deal with a scared creature.

"...what...happened?" it said. Definitely a child, the voice confirmed it. The human started breathing again, it was better to calm it...him...calm him down before he panicked.

"You somehow got into my house. Don't be afraid, I'm not mad at you" the human said, trying to look as non-accusing and harmless as possible. It didn't matter; the surprise of hearing another voice startled him. The child got off the armchair in a hurry, clearly scared.

"I'm sorry! I don't know how I got here!" he quickly apologized. The human shrugged and offered a patient smile. There were a couple more important questions to ask other than 'how the heck did you get into my home?', although that still was something they really wanted to know.

"Are you hurt or tired? You were unconscious when I found you" The question alarmed the child. He quickly looked around, not finding any wounds or problems.

"I'm fine, I think I'm fine. Where am I?" the unknown location was starting to be noticed. The child looked around in wonder. The living room wasn't anything special; in fact it was pretty simple, but for some reason he looked...amazed.

"My home! Which I repeat, you kind of...snuck into, apparently" That sounded kind of rough.

He didn't reply to that. Instead he walked to the window, looking outside at the sky. It was a beautiful day outside, very few clouds and overall seemed peaceful, but the child was staring like it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. Curious about what caused such reaction the human approached with their cup of cocoa and stood to his side, not finding anything really special outside. "What are you looking at?"

"The sunlight, it feels...it feels so warm..." he murmured, enthralled by the view "I never thought I'd see the sky..."

* * *

 _Now I know what he meant. I lost count how many times I have wished to see the sky again, I mean in person._

* * *

The human raised their eyebrows, intrigued, but didn't comment about the clear amazement the child had, instead they chalked it up to a quirk. He didn't seem like he meant any harm. Sure, he was not human and therefore the human had no idea how to react or what to expect, but they felt relaxed. Like they knew the child wouldn't dare to do any harm. Was that goat even capable of hurting anybody?

They took another sip of the cocoa, both in silence for a while, just looking outside. "My name is Patta"

"I'm Asriel" he replied.

-ooooo-

It took quite a while for Asriel to finally stop looking at the sky. Patta had gotten bored and sat around, waiting for Asriel to be done with that, but once it was clear they were going to have to wait they retreated back into the kitchen. It was better to get onto the routine for the day while their unwanted guest observed the world outside.

They were busy trying to clean the stove when they heard a noise. Turning their head around they noticed Asriel had finally taken his eyes off the view, retreating onto the armchair again. He seemed pretty lost on what was going on.

Since he was in their home Patta felt responsible for Asriel...at least for the moment. They intended to get some answers and afterwards...get him out of their house? Or...something? They didn't know yet. To try to encourage a relaxed atmosphere so he wouldn't hesitate answering anything Patta took a mug of cocoa to his guest and bringing a chair for themselves. "Here. I got some questions, if you don't mind"

Asriel took the mug, looking at the content with a dose of wariness. "S-Sure, what is it?"

"Okay, first than all: _why_ did you get into my house?" To Patta that was the most important question right now. 'How' didn't matter, what mattered was 'why'. Just to faint under the table? Patta didn't know much, but in his opinion Asriel seemed pretty healthy. Asriel shuddered, remembering the few minutes before he fell unconscious.

"...I don't know. I don't remember much" It was more like he didn't want to remember much. It was all confusing and weird.

"Tell me what you remember, that could help"

"I...I don't even know why I'm here over the surface. I remember I was in a black empty place, shortly after entering the CORE. There were two people...one was the Royal Scientist. The other one...I hadn't met them before. They were using a lab coat and I never saw their face" Asriel experimentally tried a bit the warm cocoa, starting to relax "The scientist disappeared after a while, he was there and then he wasn't, the one I didn't know was standing there...I don't know what happened to him, but after he was gone the void started to shine like it had many stars. The other one, the one with the coat...they started panicking. Like they were very afraid of something"

"Did any of them try to hurt you?"

"...I think the second one did. They tried to reach me but I ran away. The more I ran the more they panicked, until they started screaming that they...that they didn't want to die, they started choking and..."

* * *

 _I didn't want to die but attacking you wasn't my intention at any point. Not that it matters now. I'm not alive or dead._

* * *

Patta mulled Asriel's tale so far. It hadn't explained absolutely anything; in fact it gave more questions than answers. Asriel took a moment to remember before continuing. "I wanted to help them; I really did...so I approached, but before I could get closer they died! I saw them explode, their dust just...floated around!"

Asriel seemed like he was going to break down in that moment, the hands gripping the mug trembled enough to spill some of the contents. Patta, invaded by a sudden feeling of compassion, slowly got nearer to him. It seemed like the right thing to do, show support. "Um, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you couldn't save them either way..." How Asriel got into their house didn't matter anymore. There were more important matters now.

"If I had approached sooner maybe I could have done something" Asriel started sobbing, Patta's compassion increased.

"Or maybe they would have hurt you. It's okay to feel compassion of somebody, but even then one needs to learn when to stop. You did nothing wrong" Patta hesitantly put their hand on the monster prince's shoulder, not knowing how he'd react, and held until Asriel stopped sobbing.

When Asriel calmed down enough to continue, which needed more warm beverages and support, he was ready to continue his tale. "Somehow the dust kept the vague, um...the vague form of that person? I could only hear static, and the dust...formed images. I don't know what they were; it seemed like a very grainy video. I don't remember much other than that"

Patta had to admit it: they didn't understand most of that. It sounded so strange and didn't answer anything, they had no idea what happened. To them it sounded like Asriel had a very intense nightmare, but a nightmare didn't explain his presence in their house. Something had happened in some sort of void and the result was that Asriel was sitting there on their armchair, trying to tell something that obviously had rattled him quite a bit. "I still think you did nothing wrong. Take a moment to calm down then we'll continue talking if you want, okay?"

"No" Asriel said softly, shaking his head to give emphasis "I'm okay. Ask me anything"

"Okay, so...there were a few details from the beginning of all that you said. Stuff like 'over the surface' and 'Dad's castle'. And um, there's also the detail of..." How does one ask that without offending people? "...of what you are? Because I don't know" That was kind of blunt but Patta had no idea how else to ask it.

What followed was one of the most amazing things Patta had ever heard in their life. When Asriel said he was a monster Patta had to resist saying something sarcastic, but not soon after that it was clear there was something more than the definition of the word. It was a whole world trapped by a barrier created by human sorcerers; at least that's what he understood. A barrier where anything can enter but nothing can come out.

Asriel seemed to be happier talking about his world. He described his parents, the King and Queen of All Monsters, and it was clear he loved them greatly. He noted that he'd love to have a sibling but it wasn't easy for his species to procreate, although he didn't know the exact details of why. He talked about New Home; Patta taking the chance to actually make a mildly sarcastic remark on the lack of originality of the name, Asriel laughing and admitting his father was terrible with names.

The war between humans and monsters was briefly touched because Asriel didn't know a lot of details about that either. Patta hadn't even heard a word of such thing, but what mattered is that right now there was peace, although monsters weren't happy with their situation. If a human fell underground, somehow, nobody knew for sure what would happen.

Asriel was now much more relaxed. If it hadn't been for what just half an hour ago he had been telling it would have been a pretty peaceful scene. "It's amazing! A whole world of monsters living underground...I never thought such thing was possible!" Patta exclaimed, smiling widely. It had been nice to hear what Asriel had to say.

"I thought there were legends about monsters. Dad said the wars happened hundreds of years ago"

"Hundreds of years? No wonder I hadn't heard a word about that. What did you say the mountain was called?"

"Mount Ebott" Asriel replied, leaving the empty mug aside. Patta looked through the window, thinking.

"I have never heard about that mountain either. Maybe its name got changed or it's simply not nearby" Patta stood up "Now I understand why you were looking at the sky like that. It must have been a beautiful sight for somebody who has been underground for their whole life"

"Patta? Thank you for listening to me" Asriel said, very grateful. Patta nodded.

"It's the right thing to do. Asriel, for as long as you're here over the surface you can count on my help. I promise you that. In fact..." Patta tried to look as serious as possible "...maybe I could try to help you return home. It's not a promise, but I could see what I could do"

"Really? I don't know if I should walk outside between all the humans. It makes me a bit nervous"

"I don't think you should, it'd be hard to explain. It's already difficult to believe you're sitting right here in front of me. But I'll think of something, you'll see" and they did intend to do that. Of course the first thing to do would be to find out where Mt. Ebott was. With some luck it wouldn't be far from their house. To find out they'd need to check a good source of information. The nearby library would be their objective.

While Patta was looking around the kitchen for their keys Asriel's natural child curiosity got the best of him, going around the house and looking at everything. There was not really a lot to see, Patta wasn't somebody who decorated their home excessively. "Patta?

"What is it, kid?" they called while rummaging through a cabinet.

"Is this calendar correct?" The question made Patta go to the hallway, where a large calendar was. Asriel was looking at it intently and somehow seemed to be worried. The calendar was of impractical design, having to tear a piece of paper per day.

 **9th**

"Oh, it's not, kid" The negative answer brought Asriel some ease but it didn't last long. Patta tore off the incorrect date, revealing the correct one.

 **10th**

"There!" Patta made a ball with the discarded paper and threw it on the bin, but when they noticed Asriel was bothered by something they decided to ask what happened "Is there something wrong?"

"That's not today's date. I remember that it was the 15th"

"Really?" Patta shrugged "Doesn't seem something to lose your sleep for"

"What time is it?" Asriel didn't pay attention to Patta's indifferent response, instead going further in his musing. Patta, still not knowing what the point of this was, looked at the kitchen clock.

"It's almost 9:00 AM. What about that?"

"There's something wrong here. I had lunch like two hours ago. It shouldn't be this early"

"Do you even have mornings or afternoons underground? Those tend to rely on the sun" Patta asked quite discourteously. The only response was a confused shrug, but as this was nothing Patta could really understand they returned to what they were doing, finding their keys.

* * *

 _I think neither Asriel nor I ever understood the significance of the mystery regarding Asriel's recollection of the date. But now...comparing this timeline to everything I know now, I can see there were several details that hint why this timeline is now an anomaly._

 _First, Asriel's existence at this point. He should have existed a long time ago, but here he is displaced. Somehow he was born just ten years before these events. Second, Asriel never mentioned the SOULs. Asgore's plan never existed. And days later more flaws became obvious..._

* * *

"Kid, I'll have to go out for a moment. I'll find out where Mt. Ebott is, with some luck it'll be nearby and not in, say, Australia"

"What's an australia?" Asriel asked. Patta looked to a side, having forgotten they couldn't expect a monster to know about human countries.

"I'll explain later. Listen; feel free to go outside if you want. The back yard is safe, nobody will see you, but it'd be good if you don't step onto the front yard. I won't take long, alright?"

After making sure Asriel was fine with being left alone, as Patta wasn't really willing to drag Asriel to come with them, having him to hide behind walls and trees as if he were taking part in a very bad stealth game, Patta exited their house. They looked around, finding the street empty.

The town was pretty friendly but Patta didn't have a lot of hopes about Asriel going unnoticed. Sure, the kid was polite and likable, but it was likely some people would be reticent to accept him? It was better to help him get home. The surface wasn't place for a single monster to live in, much less such a young one.

Humanity was good, Patta believed that, but even then...it wasn't right for Asriel to live away of his family if there was a chance of returning to them. And Patta had decided they were going to take him home. That was the right thing to do.

With such thoughts they walked towards the town library, a few streets away.


	2. Day of Peace

The library was filled with dust, just like usual. It wasn't one of the most visited of places in the town and the people in charge weren't exactly eager to keep it clean, which in turn was a reason for its lack of popularity. Patta made sure to not to breath the dust that filled the air.

They had come here to find out the location of Mt. Ebott. The answer was likely to be in books related to monsters. The topic was so ancient and believed to be a myth that all content about it had been relegated to a corner of the fiction section, where Patta found only a couple books about it. Those were pretty thin books, written by some scholar in a faraway place. "Ciruel...huh". The last name of the author was faded and unintelligible. When was the last time anybody in this part of the world had even thought of monsters?

Patta didn't have time to read it all carefully, but from what he skimmed it was clear Ciruel had no reliable sources. Most of the content was speculation that didn't match at all with Asriel's information. At least it did say where Mt. Ebott was and included a photo of it. Patta supposed the photo wasn't going to be useful; after all it was unlikely Asriel had ever seen the mountain from the outside. However the location indicated in the book...they fervently wished it was incorrect, just like so many other things in the book were.

The other book seemed much older than Ciruel's and had a bit more of information. Patta went straight to the section that talked about Mt. Ebott and confirmed the location. It wasn't convenient at all. While it was possible two books would be incorrect the last option was to check in an updated source, at least to hope the mountain was actually closer than those books had said it was.

The library computer and its horribly slow internet connection gave the same answer. That was enough for Patta. Sighing, they rubbed their eyes, feeling the weight of Asriel's situation. "How is he supposed to go all the way to that mountain? It's impossible for him to do it alone" There was no way Asriel was going to be able to do it, even if he somehow remained out of sight of humans. This brought Patta more questions as to how Asriel had even arrived to their house, too.

They turned off the computer, thoughtful. Without help, Asriel would never get to Mount Ebott. Could Patta really take the time to accompany him and make sure nothing happens to Asriel? Did they have the resources for that, too? Well there wasn't really a choice on that matter. A lone monster child over the surface would be unhappy, confined to a house and not having more option than staying hidden was no way for him to live.

Helping Asriel return home was the only sensible option.

Patta left the library, leaving a request to borrow an atlas. They'd return in a moment to pick it up, first they had to buy some stuff they'd need for the journey, make some calls so nobody wondered where Patta would be...and withdraw a good amount of money from their saving account.

-ooooo-

Asriel didn't plan to be inside the house for long. After all he was over the surface, the world was wide, the sun was shining and there was a nice breeze outside. If he was going back to the underground then it wouldn't be bad to enjoy the back yard for a while, right?

The backyard was not very big but it was a start. What got Asriel's attention was what was beyond the yard. Behind a short brick wall there was a forest. There were forests underground but there was something different about this one. Maybe it was the feeling of freedom Asriel felt emanating from it. He climbed the wall and entered the forest, making sure to stay near to the house.

Climbing a tree was a new experience for him. The capital didn't have lots of trees around and he had always wanted to give this a try. There was something cathartic in the act of climbing the tree. He didn't feel comfortable getting to the very top, but once he got high enough to see most of the town he sat to rest and enjoy the view. It wasn't a large town, actually it was smaller than New Home, but it seemed as peaceful and friendly as Snowdin. If Mt. Ebott was nearby then maybe he could convince Patta to show him around first, enjoy the sun and have something to remember the outside world once he was back at home? Any of the mountains he could see from the tree could be the entrance to the underground. They could go there anytime.

...it would be great if everybody could see what he was seeing. He knew there was something going on with the CORE, he had once heard from his father that the purpose of the CORE was to break the barrier. Surely it would happen in the near future. If most humans were as welcoming as Patta then monsters wouldn't have any problems getting along with humans.

And right now, even if he was glad to be on the surface even if it was for a couple days, Asriel didn't have the heart to be for a long time without his family or the rest of the monsters.

How much time did he spend watching at the distance? Asriel now could see Patta walking on the sidewalk towards their house with a heap of bags. There were also other humans around, just going around in their everyday lives. Nobody noticed the monster child on a tree, as it was expected. Asriel decided it was time to get down from the tree, but he had climbed way too high to be back at the house before his host arrived. He had made some progress when Patta came to the backyard, clearly looking for him. "There you are. For a moment I thought you had left the house"

"I wanted to try climbing a tree!" Asriel shouted happily. The freedom, the possibility of doing stuff he hadn't done before, all that had cheered him up. He had descended halfway when his hands slipped from the bark in a particularly difficult section of the tree. Asriel lost his footing and fell.

Patta couldn't have done anything quickly enough. They let the bags fall and climbed the brick wall to get to the tree but it was impossible to reach that place before Asriel touched the ground. Asriel didn't lose control of the situation, though. He focused on his magic, trusting his own abilities. He would save himself from getting hurt, knowing he could be capable of doing it.

And he did. Patta stopped in shock when they saw Asriel stop falling. Instead he was levitating in the air. "What?" Patta recovered and approached, ready to catch Asriel, but it wasn't necessary. Asriel slowly floated until he got to the ground, practically throwing himself on it. He clutched the grass as if he didn't want to be away from it ever again. He needed a moment to process how he had saved himself.

"Kid, what was that?" Patta leaned on the brick wall. Asriel relaxed his grip on the grass and rolled until he was looking upwards to the top of the tree.

"Magic. Mom has been teaching me about magic but I had never done this before"

"Is it unusual for monsters to do magic or something?"

"All monsters can do magic! But I had never floated before. I can't believe I managed to do that!"

Patta shook his head. It was nice for Asriel to be proud of his newly found progress in magic but falling from a tree wasn't the best moment to practice his skills. "You could have been really hurt. Come inside, I have some news to tell you"

"I wasn't going to be too hurt..." Asriel stood up while Patta got back into the backyard "Monsters are not _that_ fragile" At least he hoped that.

Patta left the bags on the table. "Asriel, I have good news and...bad news. The good news is that I found where Mt. Ebott is" Asriel's eyes filled with hope. Patta took out the atlas they had requested from the library and opened it, showing a map of the whole world. "It's here" they said, placing their finger on a point in middle of a continent.

"Great! Where are we?"

"That's the bad news. Look at the map" Patta moved their finger across the continent, then an ocean, then another continent, then another ocean, then some islands, more ocean and finally more land until they stopped. "We're here. I have no idea how you were transported thousands of miles away from home, but you're here and that's the undeniable truth"

"Oh" Asriel's hopes diminished but didn't disappear. After all Patta had said they would help him. Surely they had a plan.

"But it's not that much of a problem. I can take you there, and I have made some arrangements so I can take the tie to do it. It won't be easy but don't worry about this, okay?"

"It's okay. I trust you" Asriel said, closing the atlas "But how are we going to get there?"

"We'll use a plane, of course! We're kind of far from the sea to board a ship and even then that'd only take us to the edge of that continent. There seems to be an airport in the area near Mt. Ebott, and a city we could rest in. It should take two days or so for you to be back home" Patta took out a few boxes from the bags "There are a couple difficult obstacles in this plan but I can't think of a better one. We'll have to give it a try"

"A plane, huh..."

"Never boarded a plane before?" How large was the monsters' world? Was it large enough to have planes?

"Some monsters are planes" he stated. Patta was silent for a moment, as if they expected Asriel to chuckle and say it was a joke, but it wasn't long before they understood he was telling the truth.

"Oh my god. Monsters _really_ are weird" Patta smiled without real mirth "So yeah, there'll be problems but I can solve them all. The least of our problems is money, which I have already covered. It won't be cheap but it's okay" Asriel didn't need to know Patta's saving accounts had been emptied. They would have some money problems for a while, but they were willing to endure it. After all, it wouldn't be the first time it happened.

"I don't have a lot of money but maybe this could help?" Asriel said, taking a handful of gold coins from his pocket and putting them on the table. Patta couldn't believe what they were seeing. Real gold! There was a fortune right there in front of them, more than enough to live for quite a while without any worries!

"...wow. Th-thank you for helping, kid. Let's save them for an emergency if we run out of cash or something, okay? Let me change the topic now.

The biggest problem is how you'll board the plane in the first place" What followed was a short description of what a passport was. It was a pretty dry topic, but Asriel more or less understood the point of it. "I contacted somebody I know in the airport who can help to solve this, so leave it up to me"

"Can't I get one of those passports for myself?"

"It needs a clear photo of your face. That kind of opposes the general objective of 'don't let anybody be aware Asriel is a monster', and that brings me to the last point: how to let you walk around without anybody questioning who you are. It isn't like we can carry a conveniently shaped object around for you to hide all the time so we're going to think of something"

A minute later Patta and Asriel were rummaging in the attic, peering into a chest full of clothes. According to Patta here were all the clothes they had worn as a child and there was a particular garment that could work. "Try this. Let's see if this covers your head well enough" Patta gave Asriel a hoodie. Asriel put it on over his sweater and extended the hood over his head. It was big enough to hide his long ears but, as Asriel expected, the snout was going to be a problem. No matter what they did with the hoodie, he couldn't hide the snout without looking ridiculously suspicious. "This isn't working very well!" he commented, looking at the mirror.

"...maybe there's something else we could use.

But there was nothing any of them could do. Asriel took some time to experiment with scarves and similar clothes but nothing worked. It all looked so strange anybody would notice something was wrong about Asriel. They had reached a dead end, but at least Asriel had some fun. It wasn't a complete waste of time.

"A lot of humans won't meddle with strangers. We'll have to bet on that and hope nothing goes wrong" Patta said. They at least had a plan B, though. If _completely_ hiding Asriel's monster traits wasn't possible, then maybe they could at least make it not be so noticeable "Since you arrived here without shoes I suppose you don't tend to use them"

"Not usually"

"Then I suppose I shouldn't start forcing you to use shoes. I'll have to walk using these" Patta unpacked a pair of fuzzy slippers, white, fluffy and overall similar to Asriel's feet. Nobody would question Asriel's feet if Patta used these, anybody would suppose Asriel had similar slippers on. They had also bought gloves made of fake white fur, as Asriel's hands would be in plain sight most times it seemed like a sensible decision to have an excuse for that too.

Patta put on the slippers and the gloves, walking around the living room. "I'm starting to regret buying these things. I'll feel silly walking outside with these"

"It can't be so bad! Let me give them a try" Patta passed the slippers to Asriel, who gladly tried them on. Patta let him have them for the rest of the day; the monster child waddled around with those things until nighttime.

-ooooo-

Since there was nothing else to do during that day Patta spent the rest of the day encouraging Asriel to tell him everything he knew about monsters and the Underground, even the tiniest details. After all, when else would they have a chance to know about a whole society buried miles beneath the ground a continent away?

It was the most interesting thing that had happened in quite a long while. Asriel's constant presence to their side was also something new; Patta found they felt a growing interest on the wellbeing of somebody, for the first time in years. It was most likely because right now Asriel _depended_ on them.

Patta wasn't used to have anybody else living in his house, not even for a day. They were used to living alone, and the only interaction they had with coworkers, neighbors and people in general was courteous yet bland. Patta hated to think of the past, saw no future and had no sincere care about anything at all.

Overall it could be said Patta was a dreadfully dull, passionless person, even shown in their way of talking and in their expressions.

Asriel's mere presence was forcing them to break out of the shell they had progressively built around themselves. It wasn't going to be immediate, but it was possible Asriel would be a positive influence in their live, even if it was only for a couple days.

Maybe the reason they felt comfortable with Asriel's presence was because Asriel was trying his best to be helpful even if Patta insisted they should deal with everything. "Let me try something here..." he said while Patta was struggling with the stove to prepare some sort of lunch. Asriel pushed them aside and lighted it with fire magic. That had led to several questions about the extent of Asriel's control of his magical powers; the kitchen was left forgotten for quite a while.

Asriel quickly found out levitating was something he couldn't do at will, as it didn't happen no matter how hard he focused on the task, so he instead decided to show Patta the extent of his fire magic. "Yesterday we were working about the intensity of these flames. I can make them as hot or as warm as I need" he said, making a few float around. It was not difficult; Asriel had already practiced fire magic for a long while and was trying to start moving onto more impressive magic, but he didn't feel ready to attempt any of that for now. Somebody could get hurt.

"Do you think a human could use magic?"

"Humans created the barrier sealing us underground so I suppose they can if they try" Asriel grinned, guessing the reason Patta had asked that "I don't think I could teach you, if that's what you're trying to insinuate"

"It isn't like I'm interested in doing magic" Patta's expression showed that was a lie. That could have been fun "I just found it curious"

"Sure you did"

"Oh, shut up. I'm going back into the kitchen" Patta said, once again going to attempt to make something good enough for both of them "So, what'd be good for you, celery and cabbages?" That's what goats eat, right? But Asriel didn't follow the established view of the world Patta had.

"Got any snails?" he asked, clearly hoping he'd receive an affirmative answer.

"Snails" Of course it had to be something weird. Must be a monster delicacy. "No. Most humans don't tend to eat snails and I'm not the exception to that" Asriel's resigned expression was enough to show that, even if it would have been great to have snails in some way, he hadn't held high hopes for that "If you want something special I could get you some ants"

"I haven't tried ants before". Patta hadn't, either, and to be frank they didn't plan to, but if Asriel wanted to eat ants then maybe they could get some.

"Imagine that, big fat ants, covered in chocolate or caramel. They're quite popular in this town. Don't ask me why"

Asriel considered the possibility of giving them a try. Sure, why not? It was going to be something novel for him. Patta returned half an hour later with a bag of caramelized ants. Asriel took some ants, reluctant, and threw them into his mouth. "It's not so bad! It's like popcorn"

"I'll trust your word, thank you very much" Patta said from the kitchen, leaving Asriel to enjoy his ants. He seemed to be happy with those, somehow. Patta chuckled, amused. Monsters really were weird.

-ooooo-

Asriel insisted on giving a try to a possible solution to the problem about keeping himself hidden. They had been talking about the type of monsters that lived in the Underground when he suddenly got an idea. Since Patta, despite thinking about it for quite a while, didn't get to any new ideas they willingly provided Asriel of the materials he asked for: an old white bed sheet and scissors. One didn't need to be a genius to have an inkling of what Asriel was planning to do with that, especially because Asriel had mentioned ghosts just before saying he had an idea. "We must be desperate if this is the most recent idea we had" they commented while Asriel cut several holes in the sheet.

"This will work! You can say I'm pretending to be a ghost and nobody will doubt it" Asriel was quite confident about the terrible disguise he was making.

"Okay, yeah, but walking with a bed sheet ghost to the side isn't the textbook definition of 'subtle'"

"It's worth a try" Asriel put on the sheet, having made holes for his arms to pass through and for his eyes to see. It was ridiculous and after a few seconds of staring Patta started laughing with real mirth.

"What has my life turned into? I'm watching a monster dress up as a ghost because I have to smuggle them onto a plane to take them to a mountain in some other continent. This is the most ridiculous day I ever had!"

"You make it sound so weird" Patta was sure that, under the sheet, Asriel was pouting a little.

"It _is_ weird. Come on, kid, you have to admit it is weird"

After admitting that, yeah, it was not a situation anybody would find themselves into in a normal day, Asriel left the bed sheet aside. There was nothing else to do. The general plan was already agreed, the necessary actions had been taken, all that remained was to wait for morning to come. As there was only one bed in the house and there was no couch the only option was an old sleeping bag Patta had in their attic. Asriel insisted he should be the one to use it, saying he didn't like the idea of forcing the host to be uncomfortable like that. The sleeping bag was laid in the living room near the armchair.

The night was cold but that didn't stop the monster prince from going outside when he judged Patta was asleep. At midnight Asriel saw the stars for the first time. They were similar to the sparkling stones in Waterfall, that much was true, but...it was kind of underwhelming. The stars on the surface seemed so far away and scarce, somehow the ones back at home were closer to how he had thought stars would be.

However there was something that did get his attention: the moon, it was large in the sky. It seemed to be shortly after the full moon phase. The Underground there was nothing similar to it, anybody knew a moon existed but very few had any memory of how it looked like. Hearing a description of it and looking at it directly were two different experiences. Asriel closed his eyes and tried to picture the moon in his mind, making sure he'd remember how it looked.

Asriel returned inside, got into the sleeping bag again and fell asleep after a while.

* * *

 _It was quite a nice day. I won't lie, it was fun. This and the days that would come were pretty fun in a way. Thank you for everything, Asriel. You and everybody else we met reminded me what living means._

 _You may not be able to hear me, but I want to tell you that everything will be alright! Don't give up. I won't give up, so you better keep holding on too, alright?_

* * *

-ooooo-

Four days remained.

It was a windy day but Asriel had nothing to fear, the holes he had cut to pass his arms through secured the bed sheet so it wouldn't fall down or be pulled away by anything. The only thing he had to worry about was the fur and claws anybody could see in his exposed hands and feet. With some luck Patta's slippers and gloves would provide of a good enough excuse if anybody noticed something was weird about Asriel.

Patta had packed some of their stuff in a suitcase, enough for several days. Until a while ago Asriel hadn't asked how they planned to get him on a plane. "Don't worry. I have a plan" They had replied.

* * *

 _And in hindsight I was an idiot. The plan wasn't outrageous or anything weird but it had many ways to go wrong. I'm glad nothing went like I expected, it ended much better than it would have otherwise._

* * *

The journey started now. Patta would leave the town they had grown in to fly to the other side of the world. It wasn't going to be the first time they'd fly on a plane to another country but they had never gone so far from home. At least they had a friend to be with, even if surely that friend was even more nervous than them.

Asriel was unsure of how well the journey would go, in fact he was scared. But it wasn't like stopping was an option. Asriel steadily stepped outside, feeling the warmth of the day through the bed sheet. Patta closed the door behind them, taking the suitcase and going to the street. They already had put on the gloves and the slippers "Okay, kid, it's time for a test drive. Let's see how well this costume of yours will do"

"How will we test it?"

"Follow my lead. Don't worry if things go awry, I can deal with that" Patta beckoned Asriel towards the neighbor's house. They knocked on the door and soon a woman opened it.

"Hello! Nice to see you again, Patta" she said, smiling placidly.

"Morning. I need a favor. I'm going to be out of the town for a few days, I'll be taking this kid to his home. Will you watch over my house, please?"

"Oh, who is this?" The woman ignored most of what Patta said, instead focusing on Asriel. It was the moment of truth; the goat unconsciously grabbed the bed sheet, calming down his nervousness. The woman noticed Asriel's hands but didn't comment about them.

"He's my cousin from the city, the one at the other side of the valley"

"Howdy!" Asriel greeted. The woman giggled.

"He's cute" she cooed and got closer to Patta "I didn't know you had a cousin. Why is he draped in a bed sheet?"

"It's a phase, kids' stuff and what not" Patta shrugged. She accepted Patta's explanation, not thinking any further about that.

"It's nice of you to humor him" she commented, gesturing at Patta's gloves, unsuspecting of what was really going on "Not a lot of people would play along the crazy games kids create"

"Yeah, I'm a peach" well the test drive was finished. Better to get out of there before anybody somehow screwed up and ruined everything "So, my house, here's the key, there should not be any mail, thank you very much. Bye!" Patta tried to walk away.

"Bye! Have a good time" then the woman said to Asriel "Patta is a bit cranky and a handful to deal with but I'm sure they'll take good care of you"

"I'm not cranky" Patta said from the street "Come on, kid, we have to get going!"

Asriel followed them while the woman waved and closed the door. Patta and Asriel walked towards the main street of the town until they were far enough from that house, then started laughing with relief. "It's working! I can't believe it's really working" Patta exclaimed.

"Who was she?"

"A neighbor. I have known her since I was your age; she helped me a lot when I moved here" Patta really didn't like to talk or even think about their past so they changed topic "So, your silly ghost costume is good enough. We can expect some questions along the way but I'm sure we can lie our way out of anything people could ask. You're doing great, kid"

"How will we get to the airport?"

"Through the wonders of public transportation" once they arrived to the main road Patta stopped a cab. The driver looked at Asriel for a moment but didn't comment, instead choosing to do his job professionally.

Everything seemed to be alright but Patta knew that going to the airport was very likely to be the easiest part of the trip. Once they got off the cab everything would get much more difficult but Patta didn't feel apprehensive about that.


	3. We Are Finally Cowboys

The airport was several miles away from the town. It was relatively active despite being located in an isolated area of the country, receiving dozens of thousands of visitors every year. That's something Patta was counting on. The more people there were around, the easier it'd be for them to blend within the crowd, at least as much as his companion could blend in, though. He wasn't a tall monster but the white fabric of his costume made him stand out like a beacon.

They entered the airport, Patta dragging the suitcase behind them. "Here we are. Don't get away of me". Asriel would have stayed close to Patta even if they hadn't said a thing. There was something intimidating in seeing large groups of people moving around, he definitely didn't want to get lost.

"What's the plan?"

Patta lowered their voice, this was the kind of thing that shouldn't be said aloud for everyone to hear. "I know somebody who's an employee in this airport. With his help you should be able to go into a plane even without a passport" That was a dangerous plan, not only for Patta and Asriel but also for the innocent person who'd help them. Getting through security was bound to be a very difficult feat, after all. Patta hoped to never have to do something like this again.

"Where is he?"

"...um, I think it's around here..." Patta took Asriel by the wrist and braved the crowds. The airport was a remarkably large place, finding a single person without any help would be very difficult, but since the person Patta was looking for was an employee they had an idea of where to go. The employees' area was almost empty, only a few uniformed workers typing in their computers. "Excuse me? I'm looking for somebody here..." Patta said the name of their friend. The worker's face showed recognition but shook his head.

"I'm sorry to inform this, pal, he left. There was some kind of emergency.. He should be back next week"

"Next week?!" Patta shouted, slamming their fist on the counter. That couldn't be happening, had they been abandoned in such a delicate moment? "He was supposed to be around here today! I called him and all"

The employee flinched, obviously wanting to go away. "I-I can't do anything about that, sir. If you excuse me..."

"Sorry, sorry, it's that it's so frustrating...I shouldn't have lashed at you" they were truly sorry for having lost control "Do you have any way I can contact him wherever he is?"

"I'm afraid I don't, pal. He even left his cell phone here. Would you like to leave a message for when he returns?" the employee grabbed pen and paper, ready to take note. Patta leaned forward and in the most placid voice they could muster they communicated the exact words they wanted to see written.

"My name is Patta. Please tell him that the next time I see him I'll kick his butt so hard he'll reach the stratosphere. Thank you" They weren't in mood of being courteous at all.

"My pleasure, pal. He deserves to get some retaliation, so tell me if you ever do kick his ass" the employee said. Asriel sighed inwardly, shaking his head and starting to have doubts about his human companion's help. This was already spiraling into a monumental disaster. Threatening people in public doesn't tend to lead to happy times, and Patta had gotten a lot of attention already.

* * *

 _...the extent of my past idiocy is astonishing._

* * *

Luckily for them the worker was more amused than alarmed. "May I help you with anything else?"

"Now that you ask..." Patta beckoned Asriel to approach more "My brother here has lost his passport and it's urgent we get in a plane today" Patta described in few words the airport they intended to travel to, hoping it was enough. They had also decided to change the story from 'cousin' to 'brother', as they thought that could bring a more favorable treatment to them.

The worker looked at Asriel for a moment before shaking his head "I'm sorry, pal, I can't help you with that. Airport regulations demand all the passengers of public flights present their identifications or equivalent documents at the moment of boarding"

"Is there no other solution?" This was definitely not going well.

"I'm afraid there isn't, pal. Is there anything else I may help you with?"

There wasn't. Since there was nothing else this worker could do Patta and Asriel retired, dejected. The worker watched them go and narrowed his eyes before taking a phone from his desk. He dialed an extension for the airport and when the person on the other side answered he spoke firmly. "I need the supervisor to come here. Eh? What do you mean he's gone for today? The day barely started! Fine, fine, don't get snappy at me. Okay, she can do it. All I know is that there's something strange going on here and I need her to be here right now. Thank you"

-ooooo-

To say Patta wasn't in good mood would be an understatement. Their brow should be enough to show they weren't having a good day, and his expression indicated engaging in conversations may not be a good idea. Asriel was standing near a big window, watching the planes go along the runways. It was an interesting sight but Patta's bad mood was starting to affect him.

"Maybe you could carry me inside that suitcase" Asriel suggested, going back to the bench Patta was sitting on. Patta made a hilarious face of mock admiration.

"Good suggestion! Oh wait, no, I meant horrible, _awful_ suggestion. You'd suffocate long before getting on the plane, and even if I left enough for air to get in you'd undoubtedly get caught" and after that they continued mumbling to themselves different ideas. Asriel was starting to understand why that woman had said Patta was cranky and a handful to deal with. In moments like this the human was truly unbearable.

Repelled by Patta's horrendous mood Asriel sighed and decided to get away before he started lashing out at people too. Asriel was a very pleasant kid but even he had a limit in his gentleness. With his expression of frustration hidden underneath the bed sheet he thought of a way to be separated from the human for a moment. "I have to go to the bathroom" Wasn't that the excuse people usually spouted when the situation got uncomfortable? Sure, that would work.

"Fine. I think they're over there. Don't take long" Patta pointed towards the bathroom sign they could see from the bench. Asriel hurried in that direction until he was sure Patta wasn't watching them, then turned away towards where he remembered the employee Patta had talked with had been. If Asriel managed to find a solution to the problem they'd finally get away from the airport. Although this area of the installations had less people, all these strangers made him nervous; feeling like anyone could attempt to take Asriel's costume off at any moment.

There was the desk! And the employee was nearby, talking to an imposing woman. In a way she reminded Asriel of his mother, but instead of kindness this woman irradiated an aura of vigor, like nothing would stop her if she focused on doing something.

Besides he liked the cowboy hat she was wearing. The employee was talking to her about something. "...many alarm signs. Asking for ways to take that child out without documents, keeping the child away while the adult made all the talking...it all gave me so many bad vibes I had to call somebody"

"I 'nderstand what ya mean. Fret not, I'll get to the bottom of this" she said with a quite strong -and quite fake - accent. Asriel had some difficulty understanding her and apparently he wasn't the only one, judging by the employee's boggled expression.

"Uh, okay. I think they went in that...oh, the child is here!" the employee had pointed towards the window Patta and Asriel had been staring through but in the process he noticed Asriel. Of course the white fabric of the ghost costume stood out. The woman saw him and Asriel unconsciously stepped back, intimidated, but her expression changed as soon as she saw him.

It was full of kindness. She approached slowly and kneeled down and took off her hat. Now that she was closer Asriel could appreciate she didn't mean any harm. "Don' be afraid, squirt...we don' mean to cause any hassles" then, perhaps feeling her fake way of talking was a bit too difficult for a kid to understand, she dropped it "All we want is to see if there's anything bad going on. Are you here by your own will?"

"What do you mean?" Asriel saw the plaque on her chest. 'Ananas', it said underneath the word 'SECURITY'.

"What I mean to ask is if you're here because you want to. You're not being forced to be here, are you?"

"No! Patta is a nice person. I'm fine being with them" he replied. Ananas' skeptic expression showed she wasn't convinced at all.

"Why don't you take off this silly thing for a second, let's talk..." she moved her hand to pull the bed sheet off but Asriel reacted quickly, jumping back. Apparently this action was exactly what Ananas had been looking for because she turned her head around to the employee and nodded. The employee took the phone handle while Ananas stood up. "Mind calling them here? I want to talk to them" she requested, her hand going to a holster on her hip. Asriel, understanding there was trouble brewing, went to call Patta. Asriel didn't notice guards with uniform near the exits, all of them keeping an eye on him.

Patta was still in the same position, looking through the window with that grouchy expression in their face. "Patta? Somebody is looking for you" Asriel informed. Patta didn't turn around.

"Who is it?"

"...I think it's this place's guards. The leader had this big badge that said 'security'" that was enough for Patta to turn their head around. They weren't angry anymore, it was replaced by alarm. They covered their mouth with their hands and muttered a short litany of swear words.

"We screwed up. We're doomed and it's all over" they said fatalistically once they calmed down enough "But it isn't like we can run away. Are you ready for whatever happens now, Asriel?"

"I'm ready" Asriel replied with confidence. He wasn't sure what was going on but Ananas seemed to be nice. Maybe she'd help them if she knew what was going on, as long as they didn't inform her of Asriel being a monster. Patta asked Asriel to guide him to where Ananas was.

* * *

 _Once another strange point: Ananas is alive. Not only that, she's also the oldest of the human SOULs. In every other universe, I don't know how, Ananas is chronologically the youngest but in this timeline the order is inverted. I'm not sure what went wrong here. Gaster would understand what's going on but it isn't like I can ask him._

* * *

Ananas waited with her arms crossed and a fearsome expression in her face. When she saw Patta her scowl deepened and Patta felt their unease increasing. The way she kept her hand on her holster made it even worse. "He-Hello. How may I help you?" Patta said with obvious nervousness.

"Mornin', pardner. We're goin' to have one serious confab right now. Follow me" and then, to Asriel "I think it's better if you stay here, dearie"

"P-Pardner? Confab?" Patta spouted.

"I won't stay here" Asriel said firmly "Let me go with them" Ananas was going to argue but something in Asriel's voice dissuaded her from saying another word. With a tired shrug she beckoned them into hallways of the administrative section of the airport until they got to an empty office. It was dark inside and it didn't help at all to calm down any anxiety Patta or Asriel could have.

"What you waitin' for. Go in" she ordered. Patta took a deep breath and entered. In this moment they truly understood how bad the situation was. Once they were in Ananas closed the door and leaned on it lazily, playing with the brim of her hat.

"You know what the word in the canteen is?"

"Oh for the love of...could you please talk like a normal person?" Patta was usually much more patient than this, but after their not-so carefully laid plans crumbled down all they felt was frustration. Ananas gritted her teeth but complied.

"I have heard some reports about you two. A suspicious adult and a child draped in a bed sheet were trying to sneak into an international flight without their documents. What do you have to say to that?"

"...it's true" Patta admitted. There was no sense on denying that. Ananas nodded, admitting that she didn't expect the confirmation.

"Right. I know what's going on. Your nervousness, the way you sweat as if you were going to the gallows, the child hiding their face...it's clear" Ananas's eyes were covered by the shade of her hat, she looked very menacing. Once again her hand touched the holster of her gun. Patta felt a shiver on their back but held the woman's gaze "You kidnapped that child"

"What? I didn't kidnap anybody" This was the worst scenario Patta had imagined. They tried their best to speak calmly, trying not to show the growing panic that was building inside them.

"You kidnapped that child!" she raised her voice "And now you're trying to take them out of the country. I won't let you get out of this room until everything is in order" then, to Asriel "Don't worry, child. We'll get this straightened out"

"There's nothing to straighten out! I'm with them because I want to" Asriel argued but Ananas dismissed the words with an indifferent wave.

"I don't know what they told you, but there's nothing to be afraid of" she glared at Patta "I ask again: anything you'd like to say about this mess?"

Patta took a deep breath. They knew they were in hot water and had to think carefully before talking. "Okay, this is all a big misunderstanding" Ananas smiled contemptuously "This kid is my, um, my..."

"Your what?"

"...my brother" If Ananas had been told about what was going on then surely she knew what Patta had said before when they talked with the employee. Keeping the story intact was very important if they wanted to avoid any bigger trouble, at least that's what they thought. The woman snorted.

"Right. That's what I was told" Patta had been right "So, you two are siblings. Since that's the truth and nothing more than the truth I suppose you two look similar, don't you?"

"Oh. Um, we're...half-siblings, actually!" Asriel covered for Patta's lie. Ananas raised her hat, glancing at Asriel "Our fathers are different"

"I see. Well, good thing you are half-siblings, then! Allow me to ask something: since when are you two siblings?"

"We're sibl-" Patta started to say but Ananas stepped forward.

"I'm talking to him! Sweetie, since when are you two siblings?"

"Oh. Golly...what a question! We're siblings since..." Asriel looked at Patta for any help but the only expression the human had in their face was a silent plea to not to screw up "...since two years ago?"

"That's great! This solves everything" Ananas took out a cellphone "I don't know if you two know, but it seems that 'round these parts of the world when a minor's single parent gets married to another single parent there's some paperwork to be filled. Children must be protected, after all! So let's call and have that checked, alright?" If Asriel hadn't been covered by his ghost costume Ananas would have known she had cornered them. He was cringing, that would have been enough to reveal that. Still, she seemed to have known it because she smiled "So what's your last name, both of you?"

When there was no answer Ananas continued her interrogation, this time towards Patta. It was very hard to think of a lie knowing she would break it with no effort. After a while Ananas' grin was wider, she was greatly enjoying this. Patta and Asriel were jittery and only wanted to be out of that office, going as far as possible from the security chief and her questions. "Anything else? I'm growing quite bored of your lies" Ananas commented.

Patta clenched their fists, wanting this to be over with. As far as they were concerned Ananas was an obstacle that didn't understand what they were doing. Sure, they could see how their actions could make it look like they were trying to kidnap a child, but their anger slowly suppressed that understanding. "If you're so bored then let us go. We have places to go" Hoping to having made that clear they moved to the door, and that's when Ananas lost her patience.

Asriel had no idea if the gun the woman was aiming with at Patta was loaded or not. Did it even matter? All that mattered was that they were in danger. The fear of a foreign and dangerous situation paralyzed him. Patta raised their hands and stepped back. Ananas, knowing she had the control of the situation, said with clear hate in her voice and lapsing momentarily into her favorite way of talking. "No bandit gets away with somethin' like kidnappin' if I can stop it. Ya'll stay here while I call the police"

Patta's anger was gone, replaced by a mix of sensations. All they knew was that they shouldn't show the fear they were feeling. "Asriel…get under the desk. Don't move from there" they said, looking straight at Ananas' eyes. It was obvious she had the guts to shoot them, and the way she was holding the gun demonstrated she had a lot of experience with it.

Maybe it's because neither Ananas nor Patta had been in such intense encounter before, or maybe it was because monsters were more attuned to magic than humans, or perhaps it was because Patta and Ananas were seeing this more as a physical confrontation. The reason was unclear but the fact was that Asriel was the only one to notice it. From both humans' chests two heart-shaped forms glowed.

It was a FIGHT. Patta's SOUL, so brittle Asriel was sure it wouldn't take more than a couple attacks to hurt them irreversibly, only had 5 HP. It also was of a reddish gray color, almost sickly. Something must have been very wrong with Patta for their SOUL to be so weak and fragile.

Ananas' soul, in comparison, was of an intense yellow color, but it seemed she didn't know the qualities of having such color. She also was quite stronger than Patta.

 ***Ananas blocks the way!**

Patta had no time to bring out a weapon, mainly because they didn't have any! All they had was an old scarf, currently draped around their neck. That would have been decent enough armor against monsters, somehow, but against a purely physical attack it'd be useless.

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"I don't want to fight" Patta stated, with their hands still rose. Ananas scowled.

"It's too late for regrets. You'll have to pay for your sins"

Neither human could use magic but somehow Asriel saw a magic attack materialize in the FIGHT. Somehow, a giant bullet chamber formed around Patta, they and their SOUL standing in the center of one of the slots. The bullet chamber rotated, and the reddish gray SOUL moved to keep the pace without touching the white walls. Patta didn't seem to notice their SOUL moving, they were too busy keeping an eye on Ananas' presence.

* * *

 _I am not entirely sure, but I think the reason why Asriel saw magic despite it being impossible is because monsters are more attuned to this kind of situations and saw our confrontation like a FIGHT. It's just a theory, though._

* * *

Sparing wasn't going to lead anywhere. Fleeing was not an option and fighting would only make everything worse for them, especially because Ananas had a weapon. Acting was the only option left.

 ***Act - CHECK**

 ***ANANAS ATK 24 DEF 19.**

 ***A cowgirl that values justice and order over everything else**

"If you're innocent I'll compensate you. I promise you that" she said but her fingers tightened, ready to shoot. The gun didn't fire real munitions, but around Patta's SOUL several large bullets appeared, moving in straight lines to strike at the floating heart. All of the bullets missed.

 ***Act - Remind**

 ***You remind her what she's doing is illegal. She shrugs.**

"You can't hold people at gunpoint!" Patta exclaimed "It's a felony"

"Kidnapping ranks higher in the crime scale," she replied. Patta took it as a hint that she didn't intend to hurt them. It was a good idea to preserve that line of thought and to not to push her to go any further. As this rather weak insinuation didn't work it was time to try something else. Maybe a more direct approach would be better.

Targets appeared in the air all around the office, all of them exploding in white holes as if something had struck those points.

 ***Act - Threat**

 ***You deliver an empty threat. She doesn't seem impressed.**

"This won't stay like this. If you don't let us go now we'll..." but before Patta could finish the threat Ananas stepped forward. Patta involuntarily kept their distance, the threat being forgotten. The cowgirl grinned, satisfied.

"How tough, you" as a way to confirm even further Patta didn't have the gall to actually try to confront her, she flicked an empty bullet casing towards them, hitting them on the forehead. Patta flinched, and white bullet casings soared bounced around the office, trying to hit Patta's SOUL.

 ***Act - Plead**

 ***You give a sheepish smile and plead. She reconsiders her options.**

"We _need_ to board a plane! I'm serious; it's a matter of life and death!" Patta pleaded. They didn't go as far as kneeling but their tone was enough to show they meant it. Ananas's finger trembled but she recovered quickly.

"I won't leave that child alone with you. Don't insist" Appealing to her good side wouldn't work...or at least...Patta doing it wouldn't work.

They didn't like the idea; they would have preferred Asriel to be safe, but maybe he could say something? Patta started to slowly inch away towards the monster's hiding place. Asriel was peeking from behind the desk, trembling slightly. The poor goat must have been so scared, and unfortunately Patta's attempt didn't go unnoticed.

"Don't move!" Ananas roared, the bullet chamber once again appearing. Her fury at Patta made the bullet chamber spin faster, and now it also moved. Luckily for the SOUL, the junctions between the chambers had acquired an orange color it could move through.

Patta immediately regretted even thinking about telling Asriel to intervene. Fearing the cowgirl would try to approach they decided they needed a distraction.

 ***Act - Confound**

 ***You say a strange non sequitur. Ananas' ATK drops a little!**

"Airports are excellent places to sleep in, aren't they? If they gave free food I'd rather stay here than in home"

Ananas's face showed confusion. "What the heck was that?" she murmured, not understanding anything. The gun was slightly lowered. That, coupled with a noise coming from behind them, caused Patta to turn their head around to check on the monster. Asriel had decided staying hidden and letting Patta continue being intimidated by Ananas was going to worsen the situation the more it continued, so he wanted to try to help. He stood up and slowly moved towards Ananas, but she glared at him. Asriel stopped, waiting to see if the gun was going to be aimed at him now.

"Stay away, squirt!" she shouted. She was starting to lose control of the situation; the child intervening was something she hadn't expected. More red targets appeared, more than the first time. Getting struck by one of those explosions was bound to hurt a lot, the monster waited until the magic attack only he could see was gone.

Being that close to the FIGHT made Asriel's SOUL emerge, white and inverted. Ananas saw no change but Patta, for the first time, started to notice what was going on around them, although to them it all seemed blurry and couldn't distinguish what was that. "What is..."

"I'll explain later" Asriel replied, trying to move his SOUL. That was good enough for now, but now that Asriel was close to the danger, Patta moved to block the way.

 ***Act - Protect**

 ***You stand in front of Asriel to protect him, just in case. Ananas' resolve wavers!**

"Asriel, stay down!" Patta shouted but Asriel didn't listen. Ananas was watching carefully, not daring to make a move.

"But I can help! Let me try something!" Asriel insisted but retreated back to the desk

"...Asriel, it's way too dangerous for you to-" Patta had lowered their guard. Their attempt to protect Asriel with their body had cost them their ability to be on the watch from anything Ananas could do. She jumped forward, trying to catch them. It was too late for them to get away, she grabbed their clothes.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed triumphantly. Patta reached forward and pulled her hat down to her eyes, making her fumble to adjust it. The door was there, they could get out. That was the chance Patta had been looking for but leaving the monster behind was not acceptable. They had to take care of him.

"Asriel, get out of-"

"Get out of here, squirt!" she supported. Ending the confrontation was the best action to do now, she had to get the kid away so she could subdue Patta whatever way was needed.

The bullet chamber returned for the third time, spinning even faster than before. Patta's SOUL could barely keep the pace, but Asriel wasn't going to tolerate this to continue. Both Ananas and Patta watched in astonishment how a single fireball formed in Asriel's hand. Asriel flung it forwards, aiming at the large bullet chamber. As soon as it made contact the bullet chamber shattered in pieces, giving him enough time to get to Patta's side.

"This is too dangerous-" Patta started but Asriel was firm in his intention to help.

"Let me end this, Patta. I can end it. Give me a chance".

"What do you think you're doing?" Ananas shouted but didn't put her gun away. However the way her arms relaxed and the gun was held lower than before showed she didn't want to use it at all now that Asriel had intervened. Patta relaxed just for a moment; at least the gun wasn't an option for the cowgirl, but that wasn't what Asriel had wanted to do.

"Patta, trust me on this. Let me talk to her" he pleaded. Patta looked back and forth, their breathing was labored. They had to take a decision.

Maybe they were smothering Asriel. Until now, almost everything Patta had done had ended badly. Until now Asriel had just gone along with what they suggested. Sure, Asriel was just a young kid. Sure, Asriel was a monster and had no idea about the world over the surface.

But that didn't mean Patta should turn him away and not allow him to try to solve the problem. Ananas' gun, the main threat here, was not a problem anymore. Maybe...they had to accept Asriel wasn't a defenseless kid and not only because he could use magic! He could help in his own way. "...go ahead" they finally conceded and stepped towards the wall, their SOUL getting out of the FIGHT. Since Asriel had taken their place, the FIGHT continued.

Asriel made sure to always be between Ananas and Patta in case the woman got any funny ideas. He adjusted the ghost costume and stood trying to look bigger than he was. "Howdy! My name is Asriel"

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"Let's try to solve this peacefully, shall we?"

Ananas's expression had turned reluctant. "Boy...Asriel. There's nothing to solve. This is between them and me"

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"I'm with them because they can help me. Please, let us go" he continued. Patta started to wonder if his parents had at some point given him diplomacy classes or something similar to that, after all, this was the Prince of All Monsters. His voice was firm but it didn't lack the gentleness that Asriel usually had.

"...what have they told you? What do you need help with?"

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"...I can't say it. Trust us and everything will be okay"

Ananas took a deep breath. "I see. Sorry but neither you nor they will leave this room until I get some answers about what's going on here" Asriel could see by now they had reached a dead end. Ananas wasn't going to listen to him anymore unless an explanation was given. What other option did he have but...break all the effort he and Patta had done about concealing who he was?

 ***Act - Reveal**

 ***You grasped the costume and took it off. Her resolve shattered!**

The moment Asriel grabbed the top of the bed sheet Patta almost gave a warning but instead said something much more subdued and resigned. "We spent hours thinking of some way to hide this..."

Although nobody would see it Asriel smiled with acceptance "It's the only option. We'll think of something else later" and without waiting for Patta's reply he took off the ghost costume. Ananas' eyes widened in surprise, letting out a squeak of surprise.

"A monster..." she muttered, thankfully keeping her voice in a low volume. She crouched, loking at Asriel at eye level "...of all things that could happen...I never thought..."

"You know about monsters?" Patta inquired, even though the answer was obvious. Ananas nodded.

"Where I'm from everybody knows about monsters. They're trapped underground and the entrance to their realm is in Mt. Ebott. People think it's a legend but it doesn't matter. It's part of my city's folklore"

"I don't mean to hurt anybody, all I want is to go home" Asriel explained. Ananas cringed and bit her lower lip, taking deep breaths.

"How did you get all the way here?"

"I...I don't know. I was unconscious and when I woke up I was in a house on the surface" Asriel explained the first couple hours of his stay in Patta's home. Ananas' first question was if Patta had somehow brought Asriel all the way to this side of the world, but she asked it in a way that wasn't confrontational. Anybody could see her righteous indignation from earlier was gone.

"I see. I will...notify the guards that there's no problem here" Ananas stated. She had taken her hat off and was clearly repentant of her behavior earlier. Patta wasn't going to hold a grudge, though. Now that they had calmed down they had to admit their behavior had been very suspicious "I didn't think a monster would ever be on the surface, much less...a child. By the way, why the hell is he walking under a bedsheet?"

"It's a ghost costume!" Asriel corrected "I made it and it has worked very well"

"It won't work forever. You'll need real clothes to blend in with the crowd and I'll help you with that. And you..." Ananas pointed at Patta "...I can't believe you approved a freaking bed sheet as the only way to walk him around. It's forgivable for him to think that but _you_ should know better" Patta hid their annoyance. Ananas shrugged, putting her hat on again. "I said that I'd compensate you two if I was wrong about the situation, so let me help you, okay?"

"Really? Thank you!" Asriel put on the ghost costume again. Until he received the clothes Ananas was going to give him the costume was good enough to hide him.

"You two should know by now boarding a commercial flight without documents is impossible, don't you? Your best bet would be to arrange a private flight. Got money for that?"

"I don't think I have enough for that" Patta said. It was true Asriel had all that gold, but they didn't want to give such information to Ananas. She paced around the office, thinking.

"I'll give you two a ride in the private plane my company owns, I already have a flight scheduled for later today. Private flights don't have as many hassles as public flights, especially when you're with people like me. Besides, I'll be the pilot. You won't have any trouble."

That was much better than Patta had expected, they couldn't believe their amazing luck. It was almost too good to be true. A chance to fly to a distant country without Asriel being caught! Their common sense protested, though. It was really too convenient.

But right now it was their best option. Not accepting could mean losing the only chance they had to fly all the way to the city near Mt. Ebott, or at least it could delay it for a while.

The airport was the biggest hurdle. Going through a city to the mountain shouldn't be as much trouble. The journey was going to be a piece of cake! "That'd be great. We'll get something to drink and wait for the time to come" Patta smiled and prepared to leave with Asriel but before they could go out of the door Ananas stopped them.

"N't so fast, bucko. You need to war the most annoyin' enemy you'll find in life: paperwork! You didn' think you could board the plane like you were steppin' into the saloon, did you?"

Patta shrugged. They should have supposed that. After making another mildly disdainful comment about Ananas' faked way of talking they received the stack of papers they needed to fill. It was all mostly for information about themselves. Ananas suggested they registered Asriel with a fake name and as a distant relative, that'd be enough. It wasn't like anybody was going to do a follow-up.

-ooooo-

Patta found out Ananas was much more likable than her first impression led them to believe. Now that her fears Patta was kidnapping a child were assuaged she was caring and friendly towards them, perhaps too much. She bought them drinks with her own money, encouraged Asriel to ask anything he wanted and talked to Patta about her life. She was the owner of her own security company, specialized in airports and other aerial transports. Many airports around the world were clients of hers; including the one they were in. It was the tale of a successful woman who had created her own path in the world.

* * *

 _And this is the only timeline where she can do all that. I feel...guilty. Knowing all her efforts will never be seen, that so many times I have influenced her to go to Mt. Ebott just to fall Underground and die..._

 _...no. I shouldn't think about this, not now. At some point we'll find the solution. It will all be okay._

* * *

It was only a few minutes before the flight now. Asriel, covered with his disguise as Ananas had said the new clothes for him were inside the plane, was staring at the small blue airplane that would take them to the other side of the planet. "I don't know if this is safe, Patta..." he murmured while Ananas gave to some employees the documents Patta had filled.

"Don't worry, kid. Planes are very safe. I have flown in them a few times and never had any trouble" they patted Asriel's shoulder encouragingly "They were short flights, though. In this one we'll spend around twelve hours inside that machine. It'd be good if you slept for a while"

"Will I be able to see the towns and the cities and the ocean?" Although Asriel was somewhat wary about the plane his bright eyes showed his excitement was bigger than his fear.

"I think you can. It's not that exciting, though"

"For me it is. The Underground is very small compared to the surface; I want to see as much as I can"

The more Patta heard about the Underground the less desirable it sounded. Asriel had made it sound like they didn't have many troubles and actually lived nicely but the Underground wasn't limitless and the lack of sunlight sounded like a bother. How could monsters have lived in there for so long? "Kid, you mentioned there was a barrier locking you all in. Is there any way to open it?"

"Dad said there was one way but we don't plan to try it"

"Why not?"

Asriel turned around, talking quietly. The answer deserved the utmost respect, as far as he was concerned "To break the barrier we'd need seven human SOULs. With them the barrier can be broken forever but...nobody wants to kill humans. I think we're more afraid of what could happen if we break the barrier, almost nobody knows how humans are like now. If we are rejected then maybe...another war could happen"

"Human souls. Huh" Yeah, that sounded bad. "I don't think it'd be as bad as monsters think it'd be. Humans can be more accepting than you think"

"Then why am I using this?" Asriel tugged at the bed sheet.

"...it's a precaution. It doesn't hurt to be prudent"

"You're afraid of what could happen if people see I'm a monster" Asriel was pretty perceptive, for a child, although it also was very obvious what Patta feared "Someday we monsters will leave the Underground. Mom and Dad have scientists working on that!"

"A plan that doesn't involve taking souls? I support that kind of plan" Patta tried to defuse the solemnity "I'm sure humans will accept the monsters' return. Besides you're the Prince of All Monsters! That should mean you'll be involved in any efforts there'll be done to integrate our societies. You'd do a great job, I'm sure of that"

"Do you really think that?"

"You bravely stood in front of a woman with a gun to stop it from getting any worse. I don't know what could have happened if you hadn't intervened. And not only that, you ended the problem without resorting to violence. Many humans would see that as a sign of good will" Patta was silent for a moment "...being brave shouldn't be the same than being stupid, though. Don't stand in front of a person with a gun unless you know what you're doing"

"Are you ready?" Ananas had approached "Everything is in order and we may go in" As both Patta and Asriel were ready to depart it wasn't long before they were walking towards the small airplane.

The inside of the plane was small and comfy. There were a couple seats and a small couch with a TV on the back. There was a portable fridge under the couch. The cockpit had only two seats and Ananas reminded them she'd be the pilot. "During takeoff please remain seated and secured to your seats. I'll inform you when you can stand up, if you wish" she instructed, entering the cockpit.

Asriel took off the ghost costume and peered through the window at the airport. "The airport looks so small from here!"

"It's definitely bigger in the inside. Enjoy the view"

While the airplane was leaving the tracks Patta felt their fears being left behind as well. Unknown to him but not to Asriel the redness of their SOUL increased a little, and their HP acquired three points more. They were starting to finally get in touch with their main quality, with some luck their SOUL would manage to get to healthy levels. Usually a human would have a minimum of around 20 HP, after all.

They were starting to feel determination.

Patta took the discarded costumes and stored them in the suitcase.

 **Fuzzy Clothes** – Gloves and slippers with claws and white fur. Not very useful for a day in the city +2 DEF

 **Bed Sheet Ghost Costume** – A sloppy costume made with a white bed sheet. Would actually fool some people +3 DEF

* * *

 **As I said, in this website GIFs don't work. For that reason I had to, um, write several paragraphs that aren't present in the version in Archive of Our Own. That's fine, I suppose, although I'm not completely satisfied with how I had to leave the GIFs aside.**


	4. The Legend of Mt Ebott

After Ananas notified them it was okay to stand up now Asriel practically launched himself upon the window, looking outside with interest. The airplane was already at the highest point it'd reach during the flight, and although at times clouds would hide the sight (and even if there weren't any clouds they were too high to see anything worthwhile) the monster was having a lot of fun. "I think this is the ocean" he commented at some point "It's huge!" Asriel did know it was barely more than a lot of water going far into the horizon but seeing it was something new and exciting "I'd love to visit a beach someday"

"There are no oceans underground, are there?"

"There are rivers, waterfalls, marshes, a bay...but not an ocean. A lot of monsters' biggest dream is to see the ocean or swim in it. They'd love to be here right now"

"Many humans have that same dream, for some reason. I don't really understand why" Patta joined Asriel at the window, looking outside. The water glistened and the sea seemed like it went on forever but Patta didn't feel as enraptured by it as Asriel was. "...I suppose it's beautiful in a sense"

"I wish I had my video camera right now. This is something I had hoped to see for so long..."

"Was that your biggest dream? See the ocean?" That was quite mild for a child, in Patta's opinion. Children are supposed to be imaginative and all that, and just because Asriel was a monster it didn't mean he couldn't have outlandish dreams. Asriel returned to his seat.

"No, my biggest dream is...uh...it's kind of stupid"

"No dream is stupid. Don't feel ashamed of saying it, kid. Go ahead"

"Promise you won't laugh?" Something in Asriel's eyes made clear he was hoping to hear his dream was worth it. It'd be quite difficult for anybody to be a jerk and say they couldn't guarantee they wouldn't laugh, especially after those puppy eyes. Patta wasn't a person that'd intentionally try to destroy a child's illusions so they didn't hesitate before answering.

"I won't laugh. Say it, I'm listening!" Patta smiled encouragingly, genuinely interested on Asriel's dream, whatever it could be. Asriel looked away, a tad bashful but grateful to have somebody who would listen.

"Mt. Ebott is the mountain that's directly above my home, you know that already. Someday I want to climb it to the top. Stand on the top of Mt. Ebott and see the world around me, knowing we're free and there's so much to see...it's something I really want to do someday" he looked back at Patta as if he expected to see the human laughing at his dream. Patta nodded in acknowledgment, that was actually a vivid and happy dream, just like they expected it'd be. It represented the hopes not only of Asriel, but also of monsters. Surely Asriel wasn't the only one who dreamed to do something like that.

Too bad Patta didn't share a dream like that one. "That's a nice dream. You have a long life ahead of you, kid; surely someday you'll do it. Who knows, maybe you'll even meet somebody who shares that same dream than you"

"Do you have a dream, Patta?"

Patta was silent for a moment. To be completely honest...they had trashed their dreams several years ago. They were now living life passively, just waiting for each day to start and end, without any sort of big goal or ambition. To know that somebody younger than they were had a meaningful dream, something to strive for someday while they, an adult who should have their life in order, didn't have an inkling of what their purpose in life was...it was depressing to know.

* * *

 _Yes, very depressing. Determination didn't seem to be my main quality, did it? Something I have wondered for a while is why my SOUL is red. Hahaha...ha. SOULs are weird like that. I'll have to talk about that later, I suppose._

 _I talk to myself a lot nowadays._

* * *

"All I want is to live in peace and without any worries. It's enough for me" they said after a moment. Asriel nodded but didn't reply, he felt disappointed Patta didn't have an interesting dream. They stayed in silence for a while until Patta took out their cellphone. After pressing a few buttons to point to a function they passed it to Asriel. "Here. Have fun"

"What's this?"

"It's a cellphone. They're like phones but-"

"There are cellphones underground" Asriel pressed a button, entering the function Patta had just set. He grinned when he saw what it was doing now "Neato! It can record video!" The Underground cellphones had progressed to the point where they had cameras included but they were limited to photos for now. Patta was practically carrying a videocamera with them all the time!

"I don't really need the phone for now so feel free to have it for as long as you wish. Enjoy"

To Asriel it was like his birthday came early.

-ooooo-

Just like Patta had said the flight was taking quite a while. While the ocean was beautiful and the clouds were kind of nice to see, staring out of the window for hours seemed like a bland activity so Asriel decided to accept Patta's advice. They both fell asleep on their seats. When Asriel woke up he had no idea how long it had been. Outside the sun was still shining, there was a sea of clouds covering the landscape so it was impossible to know if they were right now flying over the continent they were supposed to arrive to. Not having anything else to do, he decided to check on Ananas.

The door to the cockpit wasn't locked but just in case he knocked on the door. "Hello?"

"Step 'n if you feel brave, squirt. I don' mind some company".

Asriel opened the door and let out a gasp of astonishment. The cockpit reminded him some areas of the Hotland laboratory from when his father had shown him around. This area of the plane was full of control panels, lights and buttons, Ananas keeping track of all of them. She clearly had experience not only with guns but also with planes. There were two seats in front of the wide glass panels. Ananas turned her head around and pointed at the chair to her side, inviting him to take a seat.

It was one thing to see the clouds from the windows on the sides of the airplane. Seeing them from the cockpit was a better experience, to Asriel it felt like a surreal experience. The clouds flowed underneath the plane and the sky above seemed so vast and blue Asriel was speechless for a moment. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he'd see something like this. "This is so cool..."

"I n'ver get tired of the view" Ananas commented "So, enjoyin' the trip so far?"

"I'm having fun, Sheriff" Asriel replied, aiming with Patta's cellphone at the passing clouds outside to record what he was seeing. A soft chuckle to his side got his attention and when he turned the cellphone around he saw Ananas. Her face was flushed and she was laughing to herself, very happy. Seeing her so happy gave Asriel some fuzzy feelings, it was nice.

Her laughter lasted for a while. When she calmed down she sighed with nostalgia. "That brings me back some good memories...nobody has called me Sheriff for years!"

"Why are you dressed like a cowboy?"

"Cowgirl, not cowboy. It's the remains of my childhood. 'Sheriff Ananas', I used to demand everybody to call me that. Dang, I hated my name. 'Sheriff Ananas' sounds lame, doesn't it?" she laughed for a moment again.

"It doesn't sound so bad!"

"What a silly girl I was! At my age one tends to see childhood in a new light. Someday you'll remember your childhood days and you will understand what I mean" her smile slowly vanished, until she was unsettlingly serious "I do hope you'll be my age someday"

Asriel awkwardly shifted in his seat "What do you mean, Sheriff?"

"Squirt, I hope with all my heart you'll get home safely but I have to be honest, being here over the surface is a great danger for you. I believe most humans are good but if there's one thing humanity lacks...it is the sense of justice. It was already unjust from humans to force monsters to live underground. History is vague about what happened but I don't think us as a species did the right thing, you know what I mean?" Asriel didn't reply to that. Ananas shook her head, trying to find the words to say what she had in her mind "It'd be an even greater injustice for you to die. Monsters as a whole could live up here someday, I do think that, but right now you're the only monster up here. You'd have everyone's eyes on you at all times, and you wouldn't have a single moment of peace...you could even be a target for some humans' hate"

"Nobody has tried to attack me so far. Humans can't be so bad"

"There will always be a few snakes in the desert. You know magic?" Asriel created a small fireball and showed it to her. Ananas nodded "Good. If you're ever in danger don't hesitate to use magic. Not everything can be solved peacefully. Attack whoever tries to attack you. You don't have to kill them, all you have to do is weaken them enough for you to run away"

"Mom often says reaching an understanding is a good solution to all trouble" Besides, Asriel wasn't willing at all to use magic attacks against any human.

"And she isn't wrong but it won't work with everybody. Not everybody is going to be willing to listen to you. I think that as long as you're with Patta you'll be fine. They'll know what to do. But...if something happens to them and you have to continue alone..." Ananas turned her head around, looking straight at Asriel's eyes with a very stern expression "...promise you'll protect yourself"

"I promise" Asriel wasn't stupid; he knew Ananas was right, but whether he was actually going to use his powers remained to be seen. He hoped he wouldn't ever need to attack anybody...and that Patta wouldn't get hurt or something worse. The cowgirl nodded, satisfied.

They stayed in silence for a moment, deep in their thoughts. When Asriel was about to leave the cockpit Ananas grabbed Asriel's wrist "Wait, squirt, there's somethin' else I want to know"

"What is it?"

"Please be honest. Don' be afraid of telling the truth, even if it's ugly or bad. What do you know about the legend of Mt. Ebott?"

The legend of Mt. Ebott? Maybe she meant the existence of monsters but that didn't make sense, she wouldn't ask him to confirm the existence of monsters when he himself was one! "What do you mean?" Asriel inquired. Better to know what she talked about instead of replying blindly.

Ananas mulled how to ask what she wanted to know. She feared Asriel knew exactly what she was talking about and was playing dumb, that'd be the confirmation her theory was correct. She decided to play it safe, informing Asriel about the legend of Mt. Ebott. "It is said that whoever tries to climb Mt. Ebott never returns. They just...never come back! They're never seen again. That mountain is a place nobody wants to go to, precisely because of the legend, but from time to time somebody turns brave and goes. They disappear, it never fails. The police knows about it, but they're afraid of investigating. That mountain is a bad omen and everyone knows it" Ananas took a deep breath and said with a tone that showed how serious she was:

"Are monsters involved in the disappearances?"

"No! Monsters have nothing to do with that!" Asriel answered vehemently, completely sure of that. The barrier made sure no monster could influence the outside world in any way. No monster could make a human disappear. Ananas looked at him with skepticism but didn't refute what he said, instead asking another question.

"Has no human gotten underground? It doesn't matter if it's accidentally or intentionally, but that would explain the disappearances"

"Anything can enter the barrier but nothing can leave, I suppose humans could enter but...it has never happened. We would have heard about that" Besides the royal castle was very close to the barrier. It'd be impossible for a human to enter and not encounter Asgore or Toriel in the castle, or any of the monsters that are in there anytime.

It was true there was also the possibility of a human entering the Underground through some other way, like falling in a hole or anything similar, but it was impossible nobody would notice. Even if very few monsters remembered how humans looked like, sooner or later somebody who _did_ know would recognize a human and Asriel or his parents would hear about it.

* * *

 _Absolutely no human had ever fallen Underground, not even Chara. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Chara had fallen and Asriel didn't exist at that point._

* * *

Ananas nodded, accepting the answer. In her opinion Asriel was being honest but she had no idea if his parents would tell him anything about humans, that is, if they were involved somehow. She did think it was impossible for the humans to be living underground; otherwise Asriel would definitely know about that. "What would happen if a human fell or entered underground? Would they be in danger?"

"I don't think they would be in danger, Dad always said there was no need for grudges. Everybody wants to get out of the underground but nobody would do something like killing a human" that was a bit naive but he was completely sure of that. He couldn't guarantee there would be no problems at all but Asriel had faith monsters would at the very least be tolerant of any humans who fell underground.

From what Asriel was telling her it seemed that monsters weren't involved in any way in the disappearances happening in Mt. Ebott. Then what was going on in that place? "Thank you, squirt. You know, even if you had said monsters were the ones to blame I would have still taken you to the city. I don't regret having given Patta trouble back at the airport. We had reasons to believe there was something sketchy going on, but now that I know the truth I feel I should own up to my actions. It's the least I can do."

"Since when does the legend exist?" Maybe somebody could know something. Gerson, for example, had lived for a long time, seen a lot and although his memory wasn't the best it was likely he'd know if a human fell underground at some point many years ago.

Ananas narrowed her eyes, thinking "I'm not sure. I think it has always existed but it started getting widely known around two or three hundred years ago because around that time one person went to Mt. Ebott and didn't disappear. Nobody knows their name so people call them 'The Hermit'.

I think they lived up there for the rest of their life...? Some people used to think the Hermit had killed everybody who climbed Mt. Ebott. They got blamed for all that but nobody dared to approach the mountain, either way, and now that the Hermit must be dead already and people keep going missing it's clear it wasn't their fault"

Asriel felt very uneasy now that he knew about the legend of Mt. Ebott. It was unlikely Patta was going to stand on the foot of the mountain and leave Asriel to find a way in by himself. If the legend was true then...Patta could go missing. The monster prince didn't want something like that to happen to his friend, and if Patta went missing in the process of helping Asriel it was guaranteed he'd feel responsible for their disappearance.

"I have considered going myself to see what's going on in that mountain" Ananas continued "I have a gun and I can defend myself, I'd be okay. I could solve the mystery and bring some peace to the city. But then I remember I can't afford to go missing or die; as unlikely as that'd be. I have a family, they need me, and besides I don't have a personal reason to even approach that mountain. It's better for me to stay away"

"Patta won't go missing, I'm sure of that!" Asriel said, although it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself that nothing would happen to them. Ananas smiled and said she hoped they wouldn't.

"But enough of this grim talk! There's a trunk back there, bring it here and I'll give you some stuff. I usually bring my children's old stuff to sell them, so I'm sure there's something that could be of use. Go, bring that here!" Ananas was forcing herself to change topics, feeling she had brought the mood down a lot. Asriel ran to the back of the plane, the legend of Mt. Ebott resonating in his head over and over. He tried to think about anything else, about his wishes, about the underground, about anything, but he had bad feelings about this journey.

"I'm not going to let Patta go missing, I promise I won't" he murmured, finding the trunk and starting to pull it towards the cockpit. Patta was still profoundly asleep. Asriel felt tears start welling up in his eyes but he didn't allow himself to cry, defiant. Even if his mind was imagining the worst case scenario he wasn't going to let it happen. "They'll be okay". But despite repeating it over and over he wasn't more convinced.

Defending himself against humans who tried to harm him was one thing. Humans with bad intentions were foes he could see and talk with. The legend of Mt. Ebott was a completely different matter; it seemed more like an intangible force than anything else, threatening to make anyone go missing. How was Asriel supposed to defend the unsuspecting Patta against something like the legend? He resolved to inform Patta about what Ananas had told him, at least that would give them time to think of something.

-ooooo-

"We're about to arrive to the airport" Ananas announced from the cockpit "Please sit and fasten your seatbelts"

Patta and Asriel were eating in that moment. It was the afternoon, according to Patta's recently calibrated wristwatch, and both travelers were well rested and ready to walk into the unknown-for-them city near Mt. Ebott. Both obeyed, excited for their arrival.

Ananas had indeed given Asriel some items that could be useful. Patta had been asleep the whole time, so everything he knew was secondhand information from Asriel. He was now wearing a poncho with a decidedly western theme, apparently once belonging to one of Ananas' children.

"Ponchos are not from the good ol' western" Patta informed uselessly but nobody really cared about geographical accuracy when there were more important matters to worry about. The poncho was large enough for Asriel to hide his hands easily, and if he so willed it he could pull up the collar enough to hide his snout. It looked kind of funny but at least the size of the poncho made it look relatively natural. One would need to look at Asriel carefully to notice there was something odd going on.

Besides, the cowboy hat Ananas had gifted him was also another fine addition. Asriel had been practicing how to hide as much of his head as possible using it and had been successful on that regard. He would be able to walk around humans without getting anybody's attention. A cowboy ensemble wasn't more subtle than a bedsheet ghost costume, but it was something slightly more common, at least.

Asriel had informed Patta about the legend of Mt. Ebott but they weren't too worried about it. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. There's nothing to fear" they had said confidently, which was enough for Asriel to calm down. If Patta said that then surely they knew what they were talking about!

The plane touched the tracks and both passengers grasped the sides of their seats, aching to get out of the vehicle they had spent so long in. When they descended Patta wished they had a poncho too, it was a cold day on this side of the planet. They entered the airport and waited for Ananas to descend too. After a while the security guard reunited with them to discuss what they would do.

"Are you going to take us there?" Asriel asked.

"I'm afraid I can't do that" Ananas suppressed a yawn "I really need to sleep, you know. It was a long flight and I'm very tired"

"Ananas, is that Mt. Ebott?" Patta was in front of the window. They were on the second floor and the airport was on some sort of plateau overlooking the city. In the distance - at the other side of the city, after the suburbs and a quite dense forest – there was a mountain that resembled the photography Patta had seen in that book.

"Yeah, that's the mountain! It's a bit far away but you both will manage to get there. Got cash? It won't be cheap to take a cab all the way there"

"We do but we haven't exchanged it into the local currency. That and...we also have...gold"

"Gold?" Ananas thought she hadn't heard correctly. Patta pointed at Asriel, indicating the origin of the gold "It'll be a hassle to sell gold. Stick to cash" A while later Ananas returned with the local currency, having done the exchange. Since the money Patta had taken from his account hadn't been used for airplane tickets they had more money than they'd need, more than enough to arrange transportation to Mt. Ebott.

The group left the airport, going to the parking lot where a car awaited. "The most I can do is driving you to the edge of the city. From there you'll have to take a cab or something" The short drive to the city took no time. Asriel and Patta watched how the buildings got closer and closer, feeling disoriented but excited. This was a whole new place for both of them! And while this whole deal was precisely to return one of them to a familiar land, that made Asriel enjoy more what he was seeing. He wanted to remember everything he'd see in the city; even if he never saw it again he'd at least be satisfied with the memories.

"There we go, pardners! You're at the beginnin' of the dust trail. Buckle up and walk into the sunset with no fear" she announced, stopping the car. After making sure Asriel was properly disguised Patta and Asriel got off, thanking her for her help.

"What will we do, Patta?" Asriel asked. Ananas didn't drive away, wanting to hear to hear what their plan was going to be.

"I suppose we'll use a cab or something to get to the other side of the city. What else could we do?"

"Um..." Asriel lowered his eyes. During the flight he had been entertaining some thoughts. His parents must be really worried; he had been gone for quite a while already! It wouldn't be right to keep them waiting for any longer. His conscience and his heart told him the right thing to do would be to get to the mountain without any further delays.

However right now he was here on the surface! He was the first monster to exit the Underground in centuries, and since the mountain was so close...why not to stay just a bit longer? It wouldn't do any harm, would it? Nobody, not even his parents, would blame him for wanting to enjoy the fresh air, the sun, the change of ambience for a day more, right?

Besides, the possibility Patta could go missing was something that still worried him. Maybe with a bit more of time he could think of something so that wouldn't happen. "...I want to be up here a little longer, Patta. Can we do that?"

"I don't know, the longer you stay up here the more dangerous it'd be. It'd be better to go to Mt. Ebott as soon as possible" they said. Asriel nodded, discouraged. In that moment Patta thought of what awaited Asriel. Sure, the rest of the monsters and his family were in the Underground, but once Asriel went back how long would it be before he saw anything of the surface again? Asriel hadn't told them about the qualities of his species, so for all Patta knew, Asriel would spend the rest of his life in the Underground. The thought of depriving Asriel of a chance that he may not ever experience again made Patta feel pity towards the monster child. "Fine. I suppose staying around one day more won't hurt"

The way Asriel's face lighted up after receiving Patta's approval almost convinced them this had been the right thing to say.

"You'll need a place to sleep, then" Ananas said from the car "Somebody I know owns an inn, not too far from here. You could spend the night there" She gave directions to the inn and said she'd arrange everything so Asriel and Patta wouldn't have any trouble with the innkeeper. "He's a nice guy, I'm sure you'll have no problems at all"

"Thank you for everything, Sheriff!" Asriel exclaimed, making her chuckle again before driving away. Once she was far enough she shook her head, wanting to go home as soon as possible.

"That should make us even. Let other people deal with those two, Ananas, there's nothing else you need to do for them now. You won't see them ever again" she muttered to herself.

Not knowing Ananas' thoughts, Asriel and Patta hoped she would rest well "She's a nice human. I like her" Asriel said.

"Yeah, she's not bad when she's not pointing at me with a gun" Patta replied.

"But I have a question, Patta"

"Hm?"

"Why didn't you ask her to drive us to the inn?"

The silence was almost tangible. "You-You could have asked her when she was still here" They felt pretty stupid for not having thought that before. Asriel blushed; it was quite weird and almost adorable to see a hint of pink underneath his fur.

"I just thought of that"

"At least you did, that thought never crossed my mind" Once again Asriel thought of something they should have. It was frustrating, to be honest. "I suppose I'll call her and-"

"No! Don't do that" Asriel stopped Patta "She needs to rest. Let's go by ourselves to the inn"

"Yeah, I suppose that'd be considerate towards her. Let's get going, then" Better to follow small goals to complete the big one. After making sure they had all the cash they'd need Patta and Asriel started walking, their spirits quite uplifted from how well the trip was going.


	5. Yellow SOUL

The long walk to the inn started. It was a nice afternoon, a bit too cold for Patta's tastes, but at least there weren't many people in the streets and everything seemed to be going alright. Asriel couldn't even feel the cold and was enjoying the walk. He had Patta's cellphone out, recording everything interesting he could see. If he had been on the surface with his family he would have spent the afternoon exploring. The city was so big; surely there were so many secrets and wonders to see!

... monsters really needed to break the barrier. The world over the surface was awesome! Asriel really hoped at some point in the future everybody could enjoy everything he had seen so far.

Asriel had just finished explaining what a FIGHT was. To be honest, Patta hadn't understood much, although the stuff about their SOUL had gotten their attention. "What does the color mean?"

"I don't know" Asriel admitted.

"Wow. Everyone knows souls exist but I had no idea they could move or..." their words trailed off, this was a bit too confusing, especially because they hadn't really seen anything of what Asriel had described. All they had noticed was a strange dimness around, and a white shine coming from Asriel. Nobody could expect them to understand all this at the first try, right?

Besides, they had other things to think about, too. Patta was thinking about Ananas. She had done so much for them and both Asriel and they were very grateful for that.

* * *

 _Ananas...it has been a couple years already, but I can't avoid feeling responsible for what happened to you and the others. It doesn't help you and the other five keep dying in because of my actions. Is this...survivor's guilt? I don't know if that fits since, well, I didn't exactly survive. They technically ended better than me._

 _I can at least understand why she went to Mt. Ebott and dragged the rest with her, though. Justice, of course it had to be that. She was so sure she'd be able to defend herself and others she didn't hesitate. Quite a prepared woman, ready for any problem. Even when she was of Asriel's age she was headstrong and active. I have seen it many times now. She, with her cowboy hat and that gun, climbing Mt. Ebott..._

 _She fell in the Ruins, just like everybody else did. The sixth human to fall down. At first it didn't go so badly for her. While as an adult she got too much into that ugly mindset of hers when she was a child she was actually kind. Although she always had her gun ready to be aimed at a foe she never really took it out. She solved every puzzle and braved every monster in her path, managing to at least get them to not to attack her. She was scared but she didn't let her fear lead her to kill everything she encountered. The Ruins were...pretty much the only peaceful part of her trek underground._

 _Toriel found her when Ananas was trying to decide which path to take, not knowing one led to Toriel's house. Seeing a boss monster, huge compared to the other monsters in the ruins, was quite a shock but she made the right decision to wait and see what happened instead of aiming with the gun. Toriel received her with compassion and patience._

 _Ananas is the one who stayed the longest in Home. Toriel didn't approve of the gun even if it was empty but Ananas insisted it made her feel safe when she explored the ruins. Nobody attempted to attack her, and soon she started making...friends? She was spending time with the monsters._

 _Then Toriel made the mistake of mentioning the way out. It was just an offhand sentence when Ananas asked about the shoes in her room, but that was enough to catch Ananas' curiosity._

 _One night, while Toriel was distracted, Ananas sneaked onto the tunnel that led out of the ruins. She had gotten to the door when Toriel reached her, because of course, after what happened with the other children; she had kept an eye on Ananas and correctly guessed the exit would attract her. Ananas patiently asked if this was the way out and of course Toriel confirmed it, although she urged her to not to leave._

 _Toriel just said the other children had left; their fates stayed a secret for a while. I think that's precisely why it hit Ananas so hard to know what actually happened...to know children of around her age had gone to other places just to be killed._

 _...she wasn't scared after hearing about that. In fact, she was...outraged._

 _Toriel told her about Asgore and his plan to gather SOULs. Ananas deduced the other children had lost their SOULs and as such she vowed to avenge them. 'Killing them was not right!' she had exclaimed 'How can this be happening?! What are you trying to do to stop it?!' Toriel tried to calm her down but to no avail._

 _She had no idea Ananas was already hatching a plan to find Asgore. She pretended to be scared of the Underground outside the ruins._

 _I think Toriel thought she had convinced Ananas of not going outside the Ruins. She never realized how much Ananas valued the concept of justice she had engraved in her heart. Mere hours later, while Toriel was asleep, Ananas packed some food and left the Ruins._

 _I'm not sure but I think there may have been a chance of Ananas abandoning her avenging intentions if it wasn't because of the sentries. She was attacked by the Snowdin sentries that existed at that time, and since she took it as an attempt from Asgore to obtain her SOUL, she defended herself_

 _...none of the sentries survived. Being attacked by them was all Ananas felt she needed to know; monsters really were trying to take her SOUL. She was terrified but there was one thing that gave her courage in those times: how frail monsters were. Her gun didn't even have bullets yet she had managed to kill them. She told herself over and over she'd survive; she'd find Asgore and she'd stop him. Or even kill him, if he proved to be unreasonable._

 _That was something she hated to think about. Would she be capable of killing the King of All Monsters? She hadn't heard much about it but it seemed he was loved by everybody except Toriel. Even in her quest for justice for the six dead humans she wasn't sure killing Asgore would be the right thing to do. In her heart she hoped he'd pay for his sins in some other way._

 _Luckily for her she never encountered Asgore. The terror she would have felt when she realized Asgore would try to take her SOUL, even if it was after a lot of hesitation, would have been too much for her. I don't know how the fight would have gone, maybe she would have won._

 _But she made a fatal mistake in her journey: she tried way too hard to hide from the monsters. The news of the deaths of all the Snowdin sentries had spread to the rest of the Royal Guard. The captain at the time arranged their troops so the patrols would scout all available roads to find the human. Hotland, the quicker route to New Home, was Ananas' goal at the time and she refused to look for alternative paths._

 _That's how she soon found herself climbing the rocky walls of Waterfall, trying to stay off the roads. She thought that, if she didn't walk on the ground, nobody would see her. She was right about that, but she didn't calculate how difficult it'd be to hold onto the walls or how slow the trek would be._

 _After a couple hours she was tired and her muscles ached from the exertion. To make matters worse that girl didn't realize it until it was too late and she was trying to cross a wide gorge. Her fingers slipped from the rocks, she lost her footing and with a scream she fell into the void._

 _Ananas fell onto the garbage dump, on one of the many heaps of trash anybody could find in there. That sealed her fate. She had lost her gun during the fall and trash isn't known for being soft and downy. The wounds from the fall would have caused a slow and horrible death._

 _...maybe it was merciful that a Royal Guard soldier found her. She was unable to defend herself from the magic attacks that finally killed her._

 _I don't know what she thought at the end. I'm just a spectator; I can't know what anybody in the timelines feel unless they express it aloud. Maybe she didn't understand how somebody seeking justice could be doomed to die like this. It must have been horrible, feeling so defenseless and unable to stop her death..._

 _..._

 _...was that what she felt when..._

 _...there must be some way all the human SOULs can be saved. But if those humans survive or stay away of Mt. Ebott then monsters are the ones to suffer._

 _...is there no way for everyone in these timelines to have the future they deserve?_

* * *

Neither Patta or Asriel realized that, after a while, they had started to be followed. After all, even though Asriel had taken his precautions to try to hide anything that could show he was a monster, there were a couple people who had sharp enough eyes to notice there was something wrong. Luckily for them, neither of them made a huge scene about it, at least in public. One of them trotted away after a minute, excited to tell somebody about the presence of a monster over the surface. Neither Patta or Asriel ever met that person, although the consequences of his tattling would follow them until the end of the journey.

The other one was a human child, who followed them for a while. After they were sure they were seeing a monster, they took a decision. The human child ran into the alleyways that littered this section of the city, preparing themselves for what was going to come.


	6. Maze in the City

"I'm starting to think we're lost"

"She said the inn was thirty streets this way! How can we have missed it?"

"Did you count the streets?"

"Of course I did, kid. We have walked thirty streets already. We must have done something wrong" Patta spun around as if they expected the inn to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

The inn wasn't anywhere to be seen and Ananas wasn't answering the phone. They were on their own and it didn't seem like they'd do a lot of progress. "Excuse me, sir. I'm looking for an inn around here...what was its name, kid?"

"Crème Brûlée" Asriel had turned his back to the man Patta was talking with, just in case.

"Yeah, that one. The inn with the delicious name" Patta confirmed. The man thought for a moment but shrugged, he didn't know for sure where that inn was. The only indication they gave was a vague pointing in the direction they had come from. "Okay, thank you"

Asriel and Patta walked for a bit longer, the afternoon sun beating down on them. Patta was fine, but Asriel was a furry little creature. That, coupled with the heavy cowboy ensemble Ananas had lent him, was starting to be very tiring. "I'm tired, Patta. Can't we rest?" Asriel sat on the sidewalk, starting to breathe with some difficulty. The Underground was certainly bigger than this city and he was used to go from end to end of the kingdom but long walks under the sun weren't something Asriel was used to do.

"...yeah, let's rest. The inn isn't going anywhere. Technically we have all the time in the world to get there" they growled, hating this city a lot.

There was nothing Patta hated more than petty inconveniences. In moments like this they wanted to sit down somewhere and stubbornly refuse to move for quite a while. That had been their way to cope with this all. It was very immature and was something they used to do since they were a child, but it seemed like every day there was a reason to be frustrated and defeated.

"We can't give up, Patta!" The grouchy mood Patta was falling in again didn't go unnoticed. Asriel definitely didn't want to have to deal with that again after the scene in the airport. Patta seemed to make their mind quicker than last time, though. Before Asriel could say another word Patta smiled calmly.

"I know. We're just resting. We'll keep going anytime you want. It's just that...it's kind of discouraging for stuff like this to happen. I knew this wasn't going to be easy but come on! Not finding the inn? That's a load of bullcrap"

"Stuff like that happens all the time. Not everything is going to go like you want to. You're not going to let this bring you down. I really hope it won't" Asriel's tone had turned serious. The monster had already doubted Patta's behavior, now his human companion's willpower seemed to be much thinner than he had expected. Asriel had no intention to be the adult in this trip. Patta was a nice enough person but they were starting to seem a tad too childish in some ways.

"Don't scold me, kid. I know. I'm an adult. I know how life is like" Patta hated to be reminded of their personality defects, and for some reason hearing it from Asriel made it hurt more than from any other person. It felt like they were disappointing Asriel. They had taken the little goat monster under their protection, the least they could do was behave like a real adult.

* * *

 _When a child can see you're being stupid it means you're being really stupid. I never thanked you for the wakeup call, kid. I really needed it._

 _Asriel had this way to make other people realize their flaws and actually try to strive to overcome them. It's funny a monster was the one to make me and others be better humans._

* * *

Asriel and Patta rested for a while, doing small talk while they waited. It was around 5:00 PM already and Patta really wanted to find the place before sunset. Walking during the night in a city they didn't know wasn't their idea of a good time. Asriel didn't mind that, though, he said the darkness could help to conceal him better. While he had a point Patta really wasn't willing to give it a try.

"Well let's get going" Patta stood up, judging they had rested enough "Let's keep going. That inn must be somewhere around here"

"Let's look over here!" Asriel took the lead, walking down the street where they had come from. Maybe they had just overlooked it, it was something to consider, but after a while he had to admit it just wasn't around and it was unlikely it was further away. "I can't seem to find it. Try to call Ana...ah..." Patta, who had been looking around intently, frowned when they heard Asriel's voice trail off. When they turned around they saw Asriel standing in front of an alley, staring blankly into it.

Recollections flashed in his eyes. To Asriel seeing that alley...gave him a sense of familiarity he couldn't explain. It was as if he felt there was somebody he knew somewhere in that path, somebody he would call a friend, a very good friend he would remember for as long as he lived. He couldn't remember a face or a name; he just knew...meeting whoever was further in that alleyway was going to be a pivotal point in his life.

When Patta looked down alley recollections flashed in their eyes, too. They felt that walking in there to wherever it led was the right thing to do, as if walking in there was exactly what the world expected of them. It was like a deja vu. "...I feel strange" Patta mumbled, not fully understanding what they had just remembered.

"Me too. There's somebody here, Patta. We should go in"

"Go in? Why would we do that? We have absolutely no reason to explore alleys. The inn is not in there"

"Haven't you ever felt like there is something you must do and you don't know why?"

"...listen, kid. Common sense dictates one doesn't waltz into alleys in foreign cities. For all we know behind that corner there's a madman with a knife ready to harvest our kidneys" Patta was trying really hard to hide their thoughts. They just couldn't understand how Asriel had expressed so well what they were feeling right now. Their mind was shouting at them to not to enter but their instinct kept insisting. "Okay, stay close to me. We don't know what's in here"

Asriel immediately stood by Patta's side, grabbing their scarf with some apprehension. After waiting for a moment just in case a suspicious shadow appeared or any sign this was the wrong thing to do happened the two of them walked in slowly, ready to run away the moment anything looked remotely dangerous. Asriel was whispering to himself that everything would be okay and while Patta wanted to believe it they couldn't hide the way their muscles tensed with each step. This was a bad idea.

Why couldn't they turn around and go away, then?

* * *

 _Memories are a powerful thing, aren't they?_

* * *

Much to their relief there wasn't somebody ready to attack them as soon as they turned the corner. All there was after that alley was a maze of narrow paths and asphalt, the decrepit buildings towering around them. After they crossed an open chain-link gate they reached a small plaza, hidden between the buildings. Asriel was now practically clinging to Patta. "I don't like this place"

"Same. It's not too late to turn around, let's-" there was a sudden clanking noise. Asriel and Patta jumped in the air, startled, and turned around to see what caused it. "Come on!" The gate they had crossed was now closed. Asriel shook the gate, not achieving anything other than rattling it in its frame. Patta took a moment to examine where the lock would be, finding it was automatically locked. While it could be opened from the inside they had no way to force it open. Climbing the gate wasn't an option either, the top of it stopped just below a brick arch none of them would manage to pass over.

They were trapped and the only way was forward. "In hindsight we're both idiots, aren't we, kid?" Asriel didn't reply to that. Since it was now clear they couldn't open the door he had returned to the plaza, looking around for any alternate paths.

"There must be a way out. How did the gate close? We weren't even near it!" Asriel was walking around, having taken the cowboy hat off.

"It wasn't us. Somebody closed it, maybe inside one of the buildings there's a way to control the lock. It doesn't really matter now"

"There's only one path we can take. Somebody wants us to go here" Asriel said, separating from Patta and going deeper into the alley. Had that person he needed to meet lock the gate? Maybe, but there were certainly better ways to make a first impression than scaring them by blocking the way they came from.

"Asriel, stay behind me and put the hat back on again" Patta ordered, peering into the alley Asriel had found. It had nothing special or dangerous, it didn't seem like there were traps or people waiting for them. Slowly, the both of them entered, looking around nervously.

They felt somebody was watching them. Before they had arrived to the plaza it had been almost unnoticeable, they hadn't even thought about it, but now that it was clear there was a person near them it was impossible to ignore the nagging feeling they were being watched all the time.

Neither of them saw or heard the human child running from building to building above their heads, using the arches and bridges that built over the alleys.

"Asriel, if we get attacked you need to run away. Don't fight unless you're caught" they suddenly said when they got to a new alley, this one much wider than the rest. There was a chain-link fence dividing it into two.

Patta's advice was practically the opposite of Ananas' advice. Human nature encouraged a fight or flee instinct and now it was clear who leaned to what way. Asriel had promised to Ananas he would fight but he still didn't want to do it unless there was absolutely no other option. "I will, Patta"

"Nice. Now let's see where to go from here..." The fence was pretty tall but it was climbable. There was also an open gate on the end closer to them. The wide alley, divided in two, continued straight until one of the sides went to the right and out of sight from their actual point. The other lane kept going ahead into what seemed to be a warehouse. "Where do you think we should go to?"

"Through the gate!" Asriel decided, taking the lead. When they were about to cross the gate something was thrown out of the window and fell behind them. The clanking noise of some object crashing against the ground got their attention; they backtracked until they could see what it was. "It's just a piece of steel"

"Where did it come from?" Patta looked at the windows around them. Many were broken and open, it was impossible to know where that object had come from. When Asriel was about to suggest continuing ahead a sound they had heard before echoed through the alley.

The gate they had seen had closed too. Now that this was the second time this happened to them they took it calmer, after all this at least didn't block the other path. The fence could be climbed; after all, it was a matter of doing it.

But it was more unsettling to think why the gate had been closed. It was once another sign they had been observed and now whoever was stalking them was taking further action. Surely that person wanted to lead them into that dark warehouse and the mere thought of it gave Asriel goosebumps. He really, really didn't want to enter in there. It seemed to him something was going to jump out of the darkness at him.

Living underground meant there was darkness in many places but it was a more welcoming and familiar darkness. This one was different, he felt it was threatening and everything in his head was telling him to run away from it.

Patta, noticing Asriel had gone completely silent while staring at the open door to the warehouse, patted his head to try to give him courage. "Time for a strategy reunion. Let's backtrack for a moment" they led Asriel back to where the piece of steel had crashed and took out most of the cash they had brought. "Listen, we're being led into that warehouse. Somebody wants us to go in there and I doubt whoever it is has good intentions. It's likely there'll be a mugging"

"We're going to get mugged?" Crime wasn't a foreign concept for Asriel. Monsters may be overall peaceful but even then there were bad apples among the lot.

"I think so. I..." Patta was at a loss of what to do. They for sure weren't going to walk into the warehouse like nothing was going on! Ensuring Asriel at the very least managed to get away unharmed was their priority. The thing is...which path was going to lead him to safety? Did they understand wrong the situation? "...give me a moment" Leaving Asriel alone for a moment Patta walked to the point where they could see where the second path went to. In the distance they could see what seemed to be a street. "We're going to climb that fence"

Climbing it was as easy as they had thought it'd be, even if they had to lift the suitcase with them. Feeling satisfied at the chance of finally getting out of that alley labyrinth Asriel and Patta practically ran to the street they could see, just to be disappointed when they arrived to what it was.

It was definitely not a street; it was a dead end, a large expanse of asphalt that ended with a pretty rundown house. The paint was faded and everything was filled with dust and grime. The light that filled the place was the only good point about this hidden area.

There was no alternate path anywhere. The warehouse was pretty much their last hope; there just wasn't any other way to go. Patta climbed the fence but before Asriel could do the same he was stopped. "Wait here, Asriel. I'll go in first. If you hear me scream or I don't return in ten minutes ...well, you have my cellphone. Call for help or get back to the first gate or do something, but don't go search for me" Technically they could use the cellphone right now but how were they supposed to say where they were lost in? A random alleyway in a street they didn't know the name of was the only entrance as far as they knew.

Asriel definitely didn't like the idea of being left behind even if it was for a moment but Patta wasn't willing to change their mind about that, much less when, just after saying he should stay behind, Patta also had the dubious idea of leaving the suitcase with most of the cash with Asriel. In that moment Asriel really wanted to say something along the lines of 'you don't know what you're doing, do you?' And that was true; Patta truly had no idea what to do.

"If anybody is going to mug me they should be satisfied with the money I'll take with me. It's enough to get their attention and...nobody would think a kid would have so much money, right? It's safer with you" that was Patta's reasoning. While it had some logic it definitely wasn't the most well thought plan. Asriel couldn't think of something better, though.

"Golly, I never thought I would be in a situation like this. I really don't like this plan, Patta" Asriel murmured, finally expressing his concern about everything.

"Neither do I but it isn't like we can stand around and do nothing. Trust me, okay? Stay here" and after taking a deep breath to prepare them for a possible confrontation with whoever had led them to the warehouse Patta stepped inside.

The inside of the warehouse smelled stale and moldy, it was obvious it had been abandoned for quite a long time. Despite the light from the entrance they couldn't see further than a couple feet. Patta took a last look at the outside; from there they couldn't see Asriel. It was no time to stop; they needed to find a safe way out.

Sticking near to the walls seemed like a good idea. Patta put their hand against the wall and slowly walked, making sure to not to stop touching it. It worked until Patta crashed against a stack of plastic boxes; their foot hit the hard material and made a noise that resonated in the warehouse. Thankfully they were going slowly but still, their toes certainly didn't like the encounter with the boxes. Even with their shoes on it was a nasty blow.

Muttering curses they would make sure to never pronounce with Asriel nearby Patta vented their pain. So much for subtlety, they may as well turn on a light and announce their presence aloud. It took a while but after some minutes of groping the walls in the darkness, filling their hands with years of dust, they found a light switch.

With the lights on Patta could see every detail about the warehouse. All the windows had been boarded carefully, the boxes were full of construction materials and almost everything was caked with dirt. There was something important to see, though. There was a path, clean ground that indicated people walked very often the same way. Hoping it'd lead them to the exit Patta followed it.

It did! After turning a corner they saw a large open garage door. It was their chance to escape, all they had to do was bring Asriel here and everything would be okay. The question of who had closed the chain-link gates to bring them here was still unanswered, though. When Patta turned around to go back to where they had left Asriel something sounded from among the boxes, startling them. "Hey! Come out here!" Patta shouted, their patience long gone from the whole ordeal. Whatever was going to happen should be over as soon as possible "I'm fed up with this. I want some answers now!"

There was no answer. The lack of immediate reaction unnerved Patta, who felt their nervousness grow with every second. "If you don't sh-show yourself I'll find you. If what you w-w-want is money then I can give it, just...say what's going on, okay?!" Still no answer. Patta clenched their fists, ready to fight if it was going to be needed. "I had enough of this. I'll get my companion and we will, we, we will leave. I won't go down without a fight so don't think of getting in my wa-"

"He's not with you right now?"

That voice wasn't what Patta had expected. They had expected there to be more silence, giving them an excuse to go, get Asriel and practically run to the open door. Or, if there was a reply, then a gruff voice that showed in how much danger they were in.

What they didn't expect was a hushed voice that couldn't belong to somebody much older than Asriel. The child peeking from over a box didn't fit the concept Patta had of the person following them, either. While Patta stood up there, staring speechless at the child, the child hid behind the box again, taking a moment before coming out slowly.

The child walked carefully, their expression carefully neutral. Maybe they were scared of Patta or maybe they thought Patta wouldn't hurt them, Patta had no way to know. It was an unreadable face.

The intense red of the child's SOUL shone in a way that even Patta, even with his lack of knowledge about magic and SOULs, could see it hovering over the child's chest.

 ***Frisk drew near!**

-ooooo-

Asriel had taken off the poncho and the hat. It was a hot day; surely some moments without those heavy clothes wouldn't hurt. Nobody was going to see him in these grimy alleyways. He was resting against the suitcase, waiting for Patta to come out of the warehouse. How long had it been since they went in? He didn't know, he couldn't even hear anything from inside the warehouse.

"...I hope Patta is okay. I should go behind them" Asriel muttered, standing up, but he didn't climb the fence. Patta had told him to wait and that's what he should do, stay here with the suitcase. But staying in that spot without doing anything made Asriel antsy; surely there was something he could do to help Patta. What if Patta was in trouble or if they were hurt or...

Asriel shook his head, trying to shoo away all the bad scenarios that were forming in his head. He took out Patta's cellphone and looked for Ananas' number but when he called there was still no answer. "Is there really nothing I can do?" Asriel definitely wasn't the kind of person to stand aside and see how things happened. He had integrity and a courage that led him to get involved in the situations, especially if there was somebody who needed his help.

When he was once again contemplating the possibility of climbing the fence he looked back at the old house Patta and he had found. He gasped when he noticed there was somebody inside the house. He couldn't see very well but it seemed a person was walking back and forth in front of a window in the second floor. "I could get help from there" Asriel decided. Whoever was in there wouldn't refuse helping somebody asking for help, right? Humans were like Patta and Ananas, people that although they may not seem welcoming and kind once you looked past that they were good people.

Both had said humanity was overall good. It was time to test that belief. Asriel, just in case, got ready to defend himself without hurting potential foes, in case the person inside that house was not a good person.

Asriel, dragging the suitcase behind them, approached the porch and touched the door. It seemed to be relatively clean despite the rundown state of the outside of the house, clear signs it was used often. It was likely whoever was inside wasn't there for the first time. The human inside didn't notice him arriving to the porch, so Asriel prepared to knock on the door. Before he could do it he noticed the door wasn't locked, when he touched it the door opened slightly. Feeling like he was doing something bad by entering uninvited Asriel opened the door slowly, it emitting loud creaking, and entered, looking around to see the inside of the house.

The foyer was as rundown as the outside. Broken furniture and shards of different materials littered the floor. There were several doors and a staircase to the second floor but he wasn't here to explore the house, he was here to get help. Despite that the curiosity got the better of him when he saw something at the other side of the foyer.

A large fissure in the floor sank into the depths of earth. He had no idea how deep it went and it wasn't like he'd jump in it to find out. Still, he couldn't avoid wondering if it'd go so deep it'd reach the Underground. While he was busy examining the fissure a door opened in the second floor. The human he had seen was coming out, walking slowly until they got to the top of the stairs. "Frisk? Frisk, are you back? I heard the door open. Is the monster gone?"

Asriel froze, having realized three things: one, that sounded like a girl's voice. Two, 'Frisk'? That name sounded very familiar to him, for some reason, and that was strange because nobody he knew had that name. Why did it resonate in his very soul the reason he had wanted to enter the alley in the first place was to find Frisk?

And third...he had forgotten to put back on the hat and the poncho. That was a huge oversight and now there was no way he'd convince the girl he was not a monster.

The girl descended the stairs, Asriel staying completely still and observing her. She was a girl of around ten years old, just like him. She was curiously well-dressed and clean for somebody who spent time inside an abandoned house full of debris. The girl got to the foyer, looking at the doors. "Frisk, why aren't you answeOH MY GOD" She had just turned around and noticed Asriel.

It was in that moment he noticed she wasn't unarmed. She had a large knife with her, although it was clear it was plastic, and now she was pointing it at Asriel. Seeing the threatening knife made Asriel choke for a moment, this wasn't at all like he had expected this to go.

And he couldn't just attack the girl, either. She wasn't threatening him, she was...scared. Very scared. "Y-y-y-y-y-you're the mo-monster, aren't you?" she stuttered, trembling violently.

"I'm a monster but I'm not going to hurt you" Calming her down was the best thing to do right now, in his opinion, get her to put the plastic knife away.

They looked at each other for a minute, assessing how much of a threat they were. The girl seemed to calm down after a while; at least she wasn't shaking like a leaf anymore. Her grip on the knife seemed to loosen too. "This is not what I thought a monster would be" she said "When Frisk said a monster was around here I thought it was a huge scaly creature with three eyes and huge teeth, not..."

"Not a furry boss monster?" Asriel smiled warmly. He would have grinned with contagious happiness but the part about 'huge teeth' had him a bit concerned. His teeth weren't exactly small, after all. Better not to risk scaring her again.

"Boss m-" she shook her head, confused "I didn't expect a cute goat! That's what I'm trying to say. I don't know what to think..."

Cute goat, eh? Asriel laughed, flustered. Now that the girl was calmed down it seemed everything was going to be okay. But he didn't come to this house to stand near fissures and be bashful of being called cute; he had come here for a specific reason. But first... "I'm Asriel"

"I'm Celia"

"Celia, that's a nice name" There. Now that their introductions were done it was time to actually bring up Patta's possible situation. "A friend of mine may be in big trouble right now! I need help to rescue them"

"A friend? You mean another monster?" Celia didn't seem exactly willing to jump onto the chance. Not all monsters were bound to be like Asriel.

"No, they're human. They're inside that dark warehouse near here. Come on, let's go!" Asriel didn't waste any more time, while he tried to run to the door of the house he attempted to put the poncho back on. That wasn't a smart decision. Blinded momentarily, Asriel tripped and fell. "Oof!"

"Are you okay?" Celia had gone outside already but having heard Asriel fall she returned. There were a few round gold coins littered around him, having spilled from his pockets. The monster was tangled in the poncho, trying to get out of it "Let me give you a hand here..." Between the both of them they managed to solve the problem. While Asriel got the cowboy hat back on Celia picked up the objects. "You dropped...you...dropped..."

Celia realized what she was seeing and went completely silent, staring at the gold coins. She couldn't believe what she had in her hand right now, real gold coins! "Oh yeah, those are mine"

"...do you have more of these?" Celia asked with a strange tone. Asriel didn't know exactly why but he felt the situation had changed dramatically for the worse.

"We need to go help Patta!" he urged but Celia didn't move. Her fingers had curled around the gold coins.

"Mom was right! Good things come to those who are patient. So much gold, so much...with all that gold Frisk and I wouldn't have any problems for the rest of our lives. We could finally...be happy..."

"What's happening?" Asriel had a really bad feeling about this. Before he could move Celia raised her toy knife, this time without any hesitation. Asriel, surprised, stumbled backwards.

"Give me all the gold! Move, move, give it to me! Now!"

"Celia, let's-"

"NOW!" she roared. The very moment she shouted that word her SOUL flared, catching Asriel by surprise. That light blue SOUL, shining brightly, could only mean what Asriel had feared was happening.

It was a FIGHT and unlike Ananas it seemed Celia wouldn't yield by being reasonable. But he really didn't want to use his magic against her. She seemed like a nice person until greed got hold of her, or at least Asriel thought it was greed.

* * *

 _Do you know what's a perk of this being a completely unique timeline? There are no alternate timelines. There's no timeline where Celia, Byssa or Ciruel kill Asriel. There's no timeline where I murder Graham. There's no timeline where Ananas or Cohen goes too far and kills me or a timeline where...where Asriel or I die while climbing Mt. Ebott._

 _If Asriel had been killed I don't think I would have been able to live with the guilt, and if I had turned into a killer I...well, I think Asriel would have run away from me, which would in turn lead to his death somewhere else. In a way I'm very glad the timeline went like it did, even if...I feel I ruined everything._

* * *

Asriel stepped backwards. There was no way for him to escape, behind him there was the fissure, and to go to any of the rooms or the staircase he would have to approach Celia, which seemed like a really bad idea. Getting hit with that plastic knife could be really dangerous if Celia's emotions were negative enough.

And despite being cornered and in mortal danger, he didn't want to hurt her. What was he going to do, then?

 ***Celia attacks!**


	7. Cloudy Skies

Patta assessed the kid. If there was a need for it Patta was sure they'd be able to overpower them, even if the kid had some sort of weapon...which seemed unlikely. Frisk didn't make any move, though; they were standing there without fleeing or attacking. It was like they were waiting for Patta to do something.

Patta didn't have to think long.

 ***Mercy – Spare**

Feeling that if they didn't take the initiative this wouldn't progress any further Patta cleared their throat to talk to the kid. "Uh, no, he's not with me right now. Who are you and why have you brought us to this warehouse?"

Frisk didn't say a word. Somehow his eyes managed to convey a question; Patta wasn't sure how that was even possible. The question was 'Where is he?' Feeling like they were starting to do exactly what Frisk wanted Patta replied to the unsaid inquiry. "I left him behind while I checked if there were any dangers"

That was all Frisk needed to hear, starting to run towards Patta. Patta braced themselves for impact but Frisk ran past them, going back to the entrance of the warehouse. Patta followed them, demanding they stopped and at least answered what was going on but Frisk ignored them. At least it seemed Frisk had something in mind.

When they got back to the alleyway divided by the chain-link fence Frisk looked around, concluding there was no monster anywhere in here. Patta arrived shortly after that, still trying to get Frisk to say something "...I'm serious, what's goin-" Frisk raised a hand, shutting Patta up, and gestured around. It was strange how Frisk could convey what they meant without using words.

Patta felt something heavy in his chest when he realized Asriel was gone. "Oh no. Asriel...ten minutes must have passed!" they hadn't even finished those musings when they had already gotten to the gate end of the fence, just to be stopped by Frisk. The kid was pulling from Patta's scarf. "What now?!"

"I'll help"

That was not a question, that was an affirmation, one Patta didn't wish to argue with, it was likely two people would search better than one. Besides, if Frisk found Asriel, that didn't mean anything bad was going to happen. What could a child like Frisk do to a monster with the ability to use magic attacks? "Fine. I'll return to the plaza, you search wherever you want" It wasn't like there were many places Asriel could have gone to, just the plaza and the house. Patta had expressly told Asriel to return to the first gate, the one by the plaza, so in their opinion it was likely the monster had gone there.

Patta ran towards the plaza without waiting for Frisk's approval. It would take just a few minutes for Patta to get to the plaza, notice Asriel wasn't there and go to the abandoned house.

As soon as Patta was out of sight Frisk climbed the fence. There was no time to enter the buildings to open the gate; the only thought in their mind was that the monster could be in danger. They really, really hoped Asriel hadn't gone into the abandoned house and found Celia. Celia wasn't a bad person but fear can push humans to do things they'd regret later. A few seconds later Frisk was already on the other side of the fence, wishing they had done more to keep Asriel and Patta away from the abandoned house.

'Please let them be okay' that was what Frisk thought over and over while they crossed the asphalt to the porch. Bursting through the door may not be a good idea, startling people on the verge of doing something potentially dangerous could worsen the situation, so they instead peered through the window to see what was going on inside.

The relief Frisk felt when they saw Asriel hugging Celia was a sensation they'd cherish for the rest of their life. After making sure they'd be okay Frisk went back and towards the plaza. Patta needed to know where Asriel was and that he was okay.

-ooooo-

The FIGHT lasted just a few minutes.

Celia stepped forward, gripping the plastic knife and prepared to swing it at the slightest provocation. Asriel didn't have anywhere to go, behind him there was the fissure and Celia seemed nimble enough to catch up to him no matter where he ran to. The only option left was to calm Celia down from her greediness...if that was even what got her so fired up.

 ***Act – Pay 1G - Your Money: 41 G**

 *** You paid 1G. Celia doesn't seem to care**

Asriel took out a single gold coin, feeling the weight in his pockets. He calculated he had around 40G left; he sure could bear giving a few more to Celia. "Here!" he tossed the coin upwards, hoping Celia would try to catch it, giving him the chance to either run away or do something.

He didn't take into account Celia's stubbornness, though. She followed the coin with her eyes until she calculated where it'd fall, not making an attempt to catch it. She'd pick it up later. "Yes, that's the stuff! Keep them coming!" It seemed giving her gold wasn't going to way the convince her to calm down.

"But I-"

That was all the provocation Celia needed. She launched herself forward, swinging the knife and trying to hit Asriel. She definitely didn't have any training in combat, her moves were clearly of somebody inexperienced, but it'd still hurt a lot of Asriel got hit by that knife.

Despite her inexperience, she was almost overbearingly fast! Asriel had a hard time avoiding every single knife blow, no matter where he moved, it seemed like Celia would strike there next. It was almost a miracle he had managed to survive unscathed the flurry of attacks.

That was way too close for comfort. For a moment Asriel considered giving all the gold at once to get her to stop but would that be enough? What if she then decided she wanted Patta's suitcase, or if she didn't believe him when he said he didn't have more gold? No, there must have been some other way to get her to stop.

 ***Act – Talk**

 ***You question Celia's need for the gold. Her resolve strengthens.**

"You don't need to attack me. Why are you doing this?" No exclamations or yelling, staying calm in the face of danger should help. It didn't seem to affect Celia in any way, though.

"Because I want the gold! We need it more than you'll ever need it!" that was her frantic answer. She gripped the knife and advanced straight towards Asriel, waving it in front of her until she was close enough to try stabbing. Against anybody else, the plastic blade would have bent once it made contact with skin, barely leaving a bruise, but Asriel had the feeling things could go very wrong if she ever managed to stab him.

Asriel felt the plastic blade whizz mere inches from his fur and in an attempt to survive he pushed Celia away, stopping her attack. She recovered quite quickly and got ready to defend herself.

It was pretty obvious by now desperation was what fueled her right now.

 ***Act – Talk**

 ***Before you say anything she cuts you off!**

 ***Looks like listening is your only option right now.**

"Why do you need the gold so much?" He was out of breath due to all the dodging.

"Why do you care?! Give me everything you have and I'll let you go!" That face she was making...it wasn't just desperation. There was also frustration, a call for help Asriel barely understood.

Then what happened was something Asriel, when thinking later, started to understand a bit better. Somehow, although Celia's attacks so far had been purely physical, five knives appeared, surrounding him. These weren't magical attacks like monsters had, in fact, it was not even guaranteed he or Patta would be hurt if any of those attacks hit the SOUL.

These were more representations of the emotional turmoil the opponent in the FIGHT had. Celia's desperation and frustration were taking form and aiming towards him.

Asriel wasn't going to stay still and test if he would be unharmed, though. He maneuvered his SOUL to avoid each knife, finding it was much easier to deal with this than with Celia's physical onslaughts.

 ***Act – Console**

 ***You tell Celia you're willing to help her.**

"I can help you! Tell me what's wrong" That seemed to have more effect on Celia. Her slashing slowed down for a moment before she tried to strike again.

"Why would want to know? All I need is the gold, not your help!"

Asriel was empathetic enough to recognize that, more than anything else, Celia wanted help. It was likely she was sure Asriel wouldn't be able to do anything willingly and for that reason she went with the option she saw better: use force to take the gold. Maybe for now it'd be better to listen while she talked.

Once again knives appeared, but this time not only cyan knives levitated in the air along the white ones, threatening to slash his SOUL like guillotines, but everything moved slower. It seemed like...hesitation. Asriel, taking it as a sign his decision to try to get Celia to open up her heart was the correct one, was determined to continue that line of action.

And it really was fortunate those knives were moving slower than before. Any faster and it would have been a sure hit despite the light blue attacks.

 ***Act – CHECK**

 ***CELIA ATK 14 DEF 15**

 ***Good things come to those who wait, don't they?**

"You must have everything you need if you can afford helping other people" Celia said with jealousy. So that was it, or at least that was a big part of her problem. As if saying that filled her with enough resentment to attack again, she jumped forward, slashing diagonally. Asriel was forced to back off a bit more, the fissure on the ground getting closer. Falling in there would be fatal, no doubt.

"You're just like Frisk, but they're different. They are in the same situation than me" the slashing stopped but she didn't back off. Asriel stayed perfectly still until she gave him a bit more of space. Knowing she needed to rant a bit more, the monster listened intently.

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"I don't know what I would have done without Frisk. I need to repay them, show them how much I cherish what they have done for me" she continued, smiling fondly. The guillotines returned, slower this time.

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"Your gold...that'll make them happy! I'll get Frisk and I a better life..."

Celia stopped moving for a moment, her expression changing. Asriel hoped that meant the FIGHT was over but it seemed that reprieve was so she could prepare herself for more attacks. Her expression had changed, though. The desperate shine in her eyes was gone. That was enough for Asriel, it was at least a sign she was starting to get tired.

 ***Celia tries to hide her discomfort.**

 ***Act – Talk**

 ***You ask Celia to tell you about Frisk.**

 ***She seems happy to talk about them.**

"Tell me about Frisk" Asriel requested. Celia smiled fondly again.

"Frisk? They're the best. I don't know what I would have done without them" When the guillotines returned for the third time Asriel's SOUL could move idly and avoid everything, especially now that the cyan knives were more common.

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"I owe a lot to them. They even tried to keep _you_ away from here! Nobody else would have done that for me" She shook her head, her smile wavering. A drop of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she once again waved her toy knife wildly before trying to stab Asriel.

"You see this house? They found it! Without them right now I'd have to sleep on the street and starve"

Right there! That was just the opening Asriel needed. He had already supposed Celia lacked a lot of commodities in her life, judging by the way she had vented her jealousy at Asriel, but he hadn't thought she was _homeless_. Now he knew exactly why she needed help, and although he couldn't solve all her problems he could at least...provide a shoulder to cry on? That'd be a good start.

 ***Celia thinks of what Frisk would say about what she's doing**

 ***Her resolve is breaking down!**

She ineffectively dried her forehead with the sleeves of her coat but she couldn't hide her grimace. "This may not be the right thing to do but...what other option do we have...?"

 ***Act – Talk**

 ***You ask Celia about her housing situation.**

 ***She's outraged! Her ATK increases.**

"Why do you live here in this house? What about your home?"

Whooops. Bad move. Celia gritted her teeth and lashed out with the knife quicker than she had ever done before, and this time her wild flailing managed to connect with the target.

Asriel screamed in pain when the plastic blade hit him. It felt like something burned through him, crossing his body and sapping off his energy. Celia was really angry, the strength of that physical attack proved it beyond any doubt. It was a good thing he was wearing the cowboy hat and the poncho; the increased DEF both items provided had just saved him. The sheer anger contained in her attack would have been enough to kill him or at least leave him greatly weakened and with no way to heal himself.

Feeling the agonizing pain he fell on his knees, gripping his side where the toy knife had slashed him. The clothes had no trace of the attack. Only Asriel knew how much this had hurt him.

The scream snapped Celia out of her rage, though. When she realized what she had done she gasped, looking at Asriel and trying to see if he was bleeding. "A-Are you okay?!"

"I'm okay" It really hurt but he'd be okay as long as he wasn't hit again. Celia wiped tears from the corners of her eyes; this was starting to be too much for her.

"It's your fault I was angry! Yo-you stupid goat, if I had a h-home do you think I'd be living here?!"

In hindsight that indeed had been a stupid question. Celia hesitated, unable to hide the turmoil in her.

 ***Mercy - Spare**

Even if she had just injured him he refused to attack. Ananas' words echoed in his head, the promise he had made to her, but he still didn't want to do it. Celia moved her arm to strike, but it seemed like she was starting to lose her will to fight after having hurt Asriel. She stopped with a grunt, fiddling with the toy knife.

"I wouldn't have to live here, waiting for Frisk to help me. I'd be at home, happy..." she murmured. Asriel raised his head to find not only himself but Celia too, the both of them surrounded by knives. All the knives moved agonizingly slowly, Asriel and Celia barely having to move to avoid everything. "...I would be with m-my parents. I would have a norm-normal life, I would be..." Celia paused for a moment "I don't get it! Why did they have to go to that stupid m-mountain! Why did th-they..."

 ***Mercy - Spare**

She weakly tried to slash at Asriel again like the very first move she had done in the FIGHT, but her movements were sluggish. Even though Asriel had stood up by now, he avoided every strike with ease. Her heart simply wasn't on this anymore. "...why did they have to...never return...why..." she muttered.

 ***Mercy - Spare**

"...you can't know how it feels...to have everything and then lose it..." her knees buckled and she fell on the floor, crying. The toy knife was left forgotten to a side, but the FIGHT didn't end.

 ***Celia feels the weight of the world on her shoulders.**

 ***Act – Console**

 ***You approach Celia to give her a hug.**

To say Celia was surprised by the sudden hug would be an understatement, but she didn't do anything about that. She didn't reject it and she didn't reciprocate the hug. All she did was sob. There was something calming in Asriel's hug, she felt she was safe and had somebody she could trust. She had never hugged Frisk in any way, mainly because she had never told Frisk how much bitterness and feelings of inadequacy she had kept bottled, but now she realized she should have at least told them something. Surely if she had said something Frisk would have done the same Asriel was doing now.

Asriel wasn't completely sure either why he had chosen to hug Celia right now. He just acted on instinct, maybe he knew that, if he were in a situation where he felt so hopeless, he'd want somebody to do the same to him. He just threw his arms around her and wrapped her in a tight hug, it didn't matter she had just hurt him and had tried to force him to give her the gold. He was even crying now, he just noticed it.

During the last year Asriel had told himself he should not cry so easily, 'big boys don't cry'. Most people would say he didn't cry as often as he thought he did, and in fact Toriel and Asgore had encouraged him to not to hide his feelings and moods, but in his mind he felt changing that could be part of growing up. Right now he didn't care he was crying, though. It felt right.

"It's okay. Everything will be okay" Asriel said. Celia giggled between sobs, starting to feel better.

"I know...Mom used to say that all the time, that everything was okay and that 'everything would get better'. I guess I want everything to be better quicker than this"

Asriel broke the hug, taking a decision. He took out half of the gold he had and much to Celia's surprise he put it in her hands. "Take it. I don't need it"

"A-Are you sure? I mean, I acted like a jerk and I..." she glanced at the plastic knife she had dropped. Asriel nodded firmly. Seeing Asriel was completely sure about what he was doing and how she and Frisk would need the money to survive she accepted it with some reticence. "You're not what I expected a monster to be like. It's weird"

Before Asriel could reply there was a knock on the door. Celia's expression lighted up, clapping cheerfully. "It's them! Frisk is here! That's how they knock on the door when they think I needed privacy. You'll like them!"

Asriel did know he'd like Frisk. That's what his SOUL told him, somehow, he still didn't understand how that worked. He didn't even feel the need to hide his monster status, so he just stood there and saw the door open.

The child on the other side of the door was identical to the child he had pictured in his head when he saw the alley. They even had the exact same clothes! Asriel's smile faltered for a moment, unsure how to deal with the strangeness of the situation, but recovered quickly when Frisk looked at him. "Hello" they said "Is everything okay?"

"We're fine, Frisk" Celia answered "This is Asriel! Why didn't you tell me the monster was a cute goat, Frisk? I had no reason to be afraid of him!"

Frisk shrugged and turned to the person behind them. Celia waved with her hand, somewhat suspicious of the adult behind Frisk, but Asriel felt like a weight was lifted from his chest. He had gotten so focused on the FIGHT and on Celia's problems he had forgotten about Patta. "Asriel!" Patta exclaimed, clearly wanting to approach. Frisk and Celia stepped aside, giving the adult enough space to go and practically lift Asriel into the air. "I'm sorry for taking so long. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Patta! I was looking for help" Asriel replied, squirming to get Patta to put him down. Once they made sure Asriel was intact and okay they started relaxing.

"I got really scared there for a moment. Hi, um..." Patta waited for Celia to say her name "Celia. Right. I hope there were no problems with Asriel" Patta's tone was hesitant, like they were waiting Celia to do something about Asriel being a monster. Children were more accepting than adults; they knew that, but still...

"Nothing happened! Nothing at all" Celia grinned awkwardly and exchanged a look with Asriel. There was no way any of them would tell Patta about the FIGHT and what happened in it.

Frisk got closer to Celia. "What is it, Frisk?"

"Sorry for not having kept the monster away. You seemed to be really scared when I told you I saw a monster nearby"

"I'm glad you weren't able to do it" Celia adjusted her coat "Frisk, I need to talk to you about something...and show you what Asriel did for us! You're going to flip!"

Frisk looked at Asriel curiously. Asriel, not having how to deal with the person he had wanted to meet, shuffled around awkwardly.

"It was nothing" he said "Howdy! I'm Asriel. You must be Frisk"

Frisk smiled and nodded. Asriel couldn't avoid feeling a pang of disappointment when Frisk didn't give any signs of having recognized him but that wasn't so bad. It meant he could at least now start a friendship; find out why Frisk was supposed to be an important person for him.

"Eh, excuse me, kids, but have any of you seen my suitcase?" Patta had been walking around the foyer, looking for it. Asriel, remembering he had brought it, looked where he had left it.

"It was here before! Where could it have gone?" he exclaimed. Celia gasped and covered her mouth, having realized what she may have accidentally done during the fight. Embarrassed, she whispered something to Frisk. Frisk gave her a nonplussed look before raising their voice.

"Patta? Your suitcase is here" they got to the edge of the fissure and pointed down it. Patta, hoping that didn't mean what it obviously meant, took a look into it. There was nothing but empty air and darkness. Doing their best to keep a calm expression they stepped away from it and hemmed and hawed before asking.

"Asriel, do I want to know why my suitcase is supposedly in the bottom of this fissure?"

Whooops. Asriel didn't answer, trying to remember what happened during the FIGHT. He hadn't noticed the suitcase had been knocked down the fissure, whether Celia or Asriel did it was unclear. Ashamed for playing a role in the loss of Patta's stuff he hid his face behind his ears.

"We, uh, we were playing and, eheheh, I think we may have..." Celia started to say, noticing Asriel was too busy getting redder by the second "...we may have accidentally made it fall? It was an accident!"

Patta nodded with stoic expression. "I see. It was an accident". They didn't sound angry; it was more like they were resigned.

"Was there anything important in that suitcase?" Celia asked. Asriel, knowing most of the cash had been put in there and left in his care, muttered something against his ears. Nobody understood the muffled words.

"Oh, there was nothing important. Just my clothes, a few documents, some traveling stuff, most of my money and a few other trinkets and objects. Nothing important at all!" Those last few words came out a bit louder than the rest, showcasing just how much frustration they were hiding. Celia cringed, obviously feeling guilty, but Patta gave her a patient smile "But there's no sense on feeling sorry for that, right? I mean, the suitcase is lost and there's nothing that can be done"

"It's too deep to try climbing down" Frisk noted, crouched on the edge of the fissure.

"Thought so. It's okay, little girl. I'll get over it"

Asriel, finally daring to peek from behind his ears, started to relax. "I'm sorry, Patta. I lost sight of the suitcase"

"It's fine, kid. We can survive without it" they reassured him. What they said was true, it didn't make any sense to be outraged about this if it couldn't be fixed. May as well try to continue forward. "So, now what?"

"Oh! Let's show them our room, Frisk!" Celia proposed and ran upstairs without waiting for a reply. It was obvious for Patta she was running away from the uncomfortable atmosphere in the foyer. That was for the best, better to try to leave behind what happened. Frisk, liking Celia's suggestion, took Asriel's arm and pulled him towards the stairs.

Taken by surprise Asriel yelped and let himself be taken upstairs, being led into one of the rooms in the second floor. Patta, left behind, sighed and looked outside. It was almost sundown; the sky was starting to take an orange tint. "And I still have no idea where that inn is at. Oh well"

"It's on the street outside the warehouse"

Frisk was leaning on the handrail up in the second floor, having said that when they heard Patta lamenting. Patta, now understanding what Frisk had been trying to do all this time, nodded and approached the stairs.

"You were trying to lead us to the inn. That's what you were trying to do, right?"

Frisk nodded. "I really wanted to help you! These alleys are shortcuts"

"And what about that girl, um...what's up with her?"

"She got scared when I said there was a monster nearby" something in Frisk's expression communicated the rest of the reply: 'I had to protect her'.

"You had to keep Asriel away from here and lead us through the alleys. That makes sense, I suppose" It at least did answer what was going on with the gates. Patta and Asriel did have reasons to be suspicious, how would they have guessed the reason behind all that was as harmless as that?

The children seemed to get along just fine despite Asriel's species. Celia and Frisk were friendly enough; it was likely the three children would be good friends if they could be together for long. Frisk ran back to where they had left Asriel waiting. Wondering why two human children spent time in this abandoned house Patta ascended to the second floor.

Asriel was keeping up with Frisk's happiness, too, but there was something nagging in his mind, something Celia had said. 'That stupid mountain'. After what Ananas had said Asriel had the feeling Celia was talking about Mt. Ebott. Her parents...did they go missing on Mt. Ebott? It sounded like children weren't the only ones never coming back. Adults disappeared too. It was scary to know something strange and disquieting was happening almost directly above his home, something that had taken the lives of many, many humans, children and adults alike.

Just what was happening on Mount Ebott?


	8. Crayons and Children

The second floor of the abandoned house was as dusty and ramshackle as the foyer. The broken window and the pieces of broken tiles littering the floor made Asriel wonder how two children could live in a place like this. Frisk didn't seem to care, though. They avoided all the obstacles expertly until they led Asriel to a door at the end of the hallway. "This is our bedroom" they said before dramatically opening the door. In Patta's opinion it was very likely Frisk was happy to show a new friend what was practically their home.

It must have been quite some time since Frisk met a friend of their age.

"Golly!" Asriel gasped, entering the room. Once Patta was in too they could see why Asriel had been so surprised, this bedroom was...amazingly well-cared, especially when compared to the rest of the house!

The walls were painted unevenly with light blue and red colors up to halfway to the ceiling. Drawings and pictures done through finger-painting hung from the walls, most of them on what seemed to be Celia's half. There was some furniture, chipped and broken in places, but filled to the brim with stuff. Overall the room was...truly the only place in the world Frisk and Celia could call 'home' right now.

Celia was lying down on the mattress on her side of the room, staring at the ceiling, but when the group entered she sat on the edge, giving them a welcoming smile. "Hi!" Frisk and Asriel sat on the other mattress, taking the pillows. Patta, not wanting to get on the way of the children, stayed near the window, looking outside and just listening to what they were saying.

"Where are you going, Asriel?" Celia asked while Frisk rummaged in a nearby drawer and took out a knapsack, leaving it aside.

"To Mount Ebott! That's where I live" Asriel replied cheerfully "Monsters live underground, it's my home"

"Mt. Ebott? Have you seen my parents?" Of course that was going to be Celia's first thought after the mountain was mentioned. If there was any hope of seeing her parents again Celia was going to hold onto it to the end. Asriel awkwardly exchanged a glance with Frisk, what was he supposed to say?

"Uuuh...no. There are no humans in the Kingdom of Monsters" Asriel could practically see Celia's hopes shattering. She looked away, trying to keep a straight face.

"O-oh. Does that mean there's a whole kingdom under the earth? A kingdom full of fluffy goats?" She had recovered quite fast, her eyes were now shining. Surely she was imagining cities filled with monsters like Asriel, going on with their everyday lives.

That daydream must have been hinted in her face because Frisk laughed, very amused. Asriel was more bashful than amused. "No! There are many types of monsters. Mom, Dad and me are the only boss monsters around"

"Oh, that's too bad. But monsters aren't so bad. Look at yourself! Nobody could be ever afraid of you...even if your fangs make me a bit nervous..."

His fangs? What was so bad about them? Asriel self-consciously hid his fangs with his hand. Celia, unaware of how Asriel was taking such comments, continued "You have pointy fangs, like a vampire's. I don't think goats need fangs like those"

"I like the fangs..." Patta muttered from the window.

"Yeah! I like them too. Come on, Asriel, show us a big smile" Frisk encouraged, agreeing with Patta.

"A smile?" Asriel was actually glad Frisk had said that. He didn't want to acknowledge how much Celia's infantile criticism had bothered him.

"A big smile, like this!" Frisk grinned widely, brightening everybody's mood. That kid definitely had a way to get along with people, Patta had to admit that. Asriel, feeling less bashful, chuckled and hugged the pillow tighter.

"Okay, a smile. How's this?" And just like Frisk had done Asriel grinned, showing most of his teeth. The fangs had been an indicator Asriel's teeth weren't blunt like most would have expected, but none of the humans had expected the monster's teeth to be so sharp. Celia shivered, scooting backwards until she was against the wall, while Patta gave a whistle of admiration.

"Some chompers you got there, kid" they said.

Frisk was joyous, though."That's so cool! Did you see them, Celia?" they asked, jumping onto Celia's mattress.

"I saw them very well"

"Come here, take a closer look!"

"I don't want to take a closer look, Frisk!" Celia exclaimed but slowly approached back to the edge of her mattress. At least she was willing to overlook how nervous the teeth made her, much to Patta's relief. Patta had sensed reluctance in her words and tone, but despite all that she was truly doing an effort to be friends with Asriel. Frisk, satisfied with Celia's return to the edge, went back to Asriel's side and took the knapsack, taking it to Patta.

"Take this" Frisk was more of the silent-type when talking to adults, apparently. They didn't seem to have any problems with people of their age "Celia lost your suitcase, please take this"

"You don't have to give me anything, child. It's okay"

"Please take it" Frisk wasn't going to take a 'no' for an answer. Patta reluctantly took the knapsack, at least they'd have something to carry stuff into if they ever needed.

"Eh, thank you, child" they said. Frisk nodded and returned with Asriel "Are you hungry? I think it's time for dinner" Now that Frisk mentioned it Asriel was actually pretty hungry. Neither he nor Patta had eaten anything since breakfast except for a few snacks on Ananas' plane and he was sure that didn't count. After receiving Asriel's confirmation Frisk got off their mattress and ran out of the bedroom, going to get everybody's dinner.

"It's their turn to get dinner" Celia explained "They always bring yummy stuff"

"Where do you two get food from? This place can't have a working kitchen, even if it has electricity and water, I suppose" It was already getting dark so the children had turned on the light bulb. Celia stirred, unsure of how to answer.

"People usually give us food. A lot of people know about Frisk and I's situation, they send us food and stuff..."

"And nobody has given you or them a home?" Were the people in this city so uncaring they were satisfied with just giving food and money as if these children were no more than beggars? Technically that's what they were but it seemed to Patta they strived to keep a semblance of a dignified life. Still, to live in a place like this without an adult to take care of them...Patta just couldn't understand how that was possible. At least these kids seemed to be surviving without lots of problems.

Celia scowled, not liking Patta's question. It took them a moment to realize how inconsiderate such question was, and stammered an apology. Celia, while obviously not trusting Patta, couldn't ask them to leave. They were Asriel's companion, after all, a temporal adult figure the monster needed in order to survive on the surface, even if Patta was kind of an idiot.

Frisk returned after a while, bringing with them a large plastic container. "Dinner has arrived!" Celia announced, taking the container and opening it. Inside there were six corndogs. "Oh! From him, Frisk?" Frisk nodded, that was all they said about the origin of the food.

Each person present took a corndog, that'd be all for that night. "It's like a hotdog but with the bun fused to the meat" Frisk said. Asriel seemed to really like the corndog, as if the Underground didn't have something like this.

At some point Celia went deep in thought. She hadn't told Frisk how she felt about all she had done for him, and to be frank she didn't feel comfortable saying it with Patta nearby. However the recent FIGHT with Asriel did bring to her mind again the circumstances of her parents' disappearance. "In two days it'll be a year" she said.

"A year since what?" Patta asked.

"A year since my parents...well..." she didn't need to complete the sentence, everybody present knew to some extent why the children were living here. "...and tomorrow isn't a happy day, either"

"Did something else happen a year ago?" Prodding on Celia's past and old wounds wasn't something Asriel was fond of but the topic of the mystery of Mt. Ebott was starting to turn into a matter he wanted to solve. Finding an explanation as to why that was happening had the potential to be as important as returning to the Underground.

He wasn't sure he would be able to sleep well knowing over his home humans disappeared every once in a while.

"Tomorrow it'll be one year since my cousin Umi disappeared on Mt. Ebott too. I...I don't know much about it, but he went to that stupid mountain too"

"In two days several people in your family went missing, huh" Patta chewed on the corndog "I see"

"You know what Byssa once told me? She said it was her fault. She screamed it was her fault Umi went to Mt. Ebott, so it was also her fault my parents went missing too. It can't be her fault, right? She didn't do anything"

Patta looked at the ceiling, sighing. They hoped they'd never experience such guilt themselves any soon. "Who is Byssa?"

"My cousin Byssa, she is Umi's older sister. She says a lot of things, she says..." Celia hesitated before continuing "...she says monsters are abducting the people who go to Mt. Ebott" Asriel's horrified expression was more than enough to show such rumor was unfounded, as far as he was knew "D-Don't worry, Asriel! She calls me almost every afternoon; I'll tell her it's not true"

"She's very angry" Frisk said. To Patta it seemed logical, the loss of a sibling to strange circumstances was something one didn't just brush aside, especially if for some reason she blames herself for both that and related disappearances. There must have been a reason for why she thought that.

"Okay, got it. Everything will be fine as long as we don't get in her way" Patta said. It should be easy, this was a city and they were trying their best to keep Asriel unsuspicious. It wasn't like they were going to encounter her in the street and engage in FIGHT, right?

"We're going to somehow stumble upon her, won't we?" Asriel whispered to Patta.

"With our terrible luck we're going to find her in the inn or something. But it's no problem. As long as I'm with you she won't be able to harm you"

"You jinxed it" Frisk had been close enough to listen too. Patta, hoping saying that wasn't enough to summon the misfortune for that to actually happen, focused on their food.

-ooooo-

It was already night but they were still in the abandoned house. Patta had decided to let Asriel be there for a while, after all Celia and Frisk weren't bad company for Asriel. Besides after today it was unlikely he'd ever see them again, it was better to let him at least have some good memories and something to cherish, to know he had made some friends of his age on the surface.

After dinner Celia wanted Asriel to join her in her hobby: finger-painting. She provided paints and pieces of paper to Frisk and Asriel, instructing them on how to dip their fingers in the pots properly and how to move their fingers across the paper to achieve effects and textures. Her years of experience really showed, and it was endearing to see how much she enjoyed having her friends doing something she loved.

That was the night they learned that artistic technique doesn't work very well when the artist has fingers covered in fur, and claws doesn't mix well with paper, either. While Asriel was achieving some truly interesting textures his fingers kept accumulating paint until he was practically spreading little globes of paint when he moved his hands, not only on the paper but also in every object and person nearby. Everything around him ended speckled with paint.

His white fur was a problem, too. It'd be a long time before Asriel's fingers recovered their usual white color; he'd have those faded red, green and blue colors for who knew how long.

However Asriel didn't mind the inconvenience of his furry fingers, he was having a lot of fun messing around with the paint and trying his best. This was a new experience for him, after all, and his good mood made the situation more amusing than frustrating. Seeing Asriel have so much fun made Patta be sure they had taken the right decision by letting him stay for a while longer.

After one particularly memorable attempt that ended with the paper getting stuck in his claw, leading to his work getting torn in half, it was decided Asriel would fare better with crayons.

Patta felt silly sitting in a children's bedroom and drawing with crayons. It was better than standing around and doing nothing, at least, besides it had been long since the last time they had drawn anything. It was nice to do something like this again.

"I think I still got some skills" they announced when they were done. Even if crayons were a limited medium they tried their best to make it as complex as possible. It was at least a passable effort. They had drawn the scene in front of them, the three children working on their art "How's it?"

"I like it" Frisk approved, taking a closer look.

"I painted Frisk and Asriel" Celia showed her art. She had insisted on finger-painting. Asriel and Frisk were floating in a nondescript background of a mint green color. Somehow she had managed to draw Frisk's usual inexpressive face, and it seemed Asriel was going to fall onto Frisk and push them onto the edge of the page. "You two will be great friends, I know it"

"Nice!" Asriel was grinning "You're great at this. What did you draw, Frisk?"

"It's abstract" Frisk smiled and passed his work to Asriel. The monster child tilted his head and turned the art from one side to another, trying to make sense of it.

"These looks like stars in the sky. Were you trying to draw stars?"

"This over here looks like Frisk, somehow. It's either Frisk or a mop" Patta pointed at a figure on a side of the paper.

"What do you call this cool drawing, Frisk?" Celia asked.

"Determination" they answered with pride. Patta didn't really understand how Frisk's drawing symbolized determination. Maybe Patta just didn't have any idea what was going on in Frisk's head at the time they drew that.

"Show us your drawing, Asriel!" Celia requested excitedly, trying to peek at it. Asriel, chuckling and holding the drawing close to his chest, turned it around. It was a white and light blue castle seen from a faraway point. The black background and sparkles on the top of the page made it look like it was night.

"It's the castle in the capital!" he explained. So that was the royal castle. Patta stared at the drawing, something flashing in their mind. Somehow...looking at it brought glimpses of a place they didn't recognize. A golden hall, a gray city, and strangely enough, a very short scene of them drinking tea with a large boss monster that wasn't Asriel. Patta closed their eyes, not understanding what had just happened.

* * *

 _Oh! I see. I think I'm starting to understand why I had those out-of-place memories. It was a consequence of me having to rebuild several sections of the timeline, wasn't it? I went overboard with the reconstruction and accidentally forced those memories into not only mine, but also other people's heads. With some luck it happened just a few times._

* * *

"So that's where you live, kid?" Patta opened their eyes, noticing the children were looking at them with some concern. "Don't worry so much, I just have a headache. So, is that your home?"

"No, this is the castle. Here's where I live" Asriel pointed at a quite smaller detail in the drawing. It seemed to be a quaint little house attached to the castle "There's a part in Waterfall where you can see all this. It's beautiful"

"I'd like to see the Underground someday" Frisk said with a strange amount of eagerness "Could I go in there?" Frisk asked. Asriel went silent, the chances of his human friends entering the Underground were pretty low, and even if they did, that would mean being trapped for quite a long time. That barrier wasn't going to disappear any soon unless the CORE managed to achieve some huge progress in the near future.

"I don't think so, Frisk. Sorry"

"Why not?" Celia asked. While she didn't have any interest in going to the Underground she at least wanted Frisk to visit Asriel.

"It's complicated"

There was silence for a moment. Patta looked out of the window. "It's time for us to go to the inn, goat kid. It's getting late"

"If you two are going to Mount Ebott you may need somebody to guide you through the city" Celia said "Why don't you take Frisk with you? They'll be of help"

"Are you sure about that?" Frisk asked, but it didn't seem like they rejected the idea of guiding Patta and Asriel through the city. That was a nice enough idea, besides they didn't mind having Frisk around.

Asriel was pleasantly surprised by the suggestion, too. That would be great! As long as Frisk didn't go onto Mount Ebott itself that should be fine. Celia nodded vigorously. "I can survive by myself a few days, Frisk! Don't worry about me"

"Okay. I accept" Frisk smiled, getting off the mattress and going to the door.

"Do you know this city very well, Frisk?" Patta asked. Celia scoffed as if Patta had just asked something glaringly obvious for anybody.

"Frisk knows this city like the back of their hand! If there's anybody who can help you cross it without any trouble it's them. Please, take them!"

"Sure, I suppose. You don't mind, right, Asriel?" Judging by the way Asriel was excitedly vibrating it was clear he had accepted the proposal almost immediately. "Then it's settled"

Celia said she wanted to keep the drawing to remember Asriel, she hanged it among the rest of her art. The rest of the drawings were put in the knapsack and given to Patta. Celia wanted to give Asriel few things before they left, though. "I have a gift for you" She rummaged through the drawers until she took out a knit beanie. "This may be better than a cowboy hat, I think. Here" She gave it to Asriel.

While it still did nothing to hide Asriel's face it at least made sure nobody would be able to distinguish the back of Asriel's head and ears. That was good for something, at least. Asriel swapped the cowboy hat for the beanie

 **Crayon Art**

Three drawings commemorating the short time spent in Celia and Frisk's abandoned house. Good to remember what you live for! Heals 10 HP.

 **Cowboy Hat**

This battle-worn hat makes you want to grow a beard. +5 ATK, +7 DEF.

 **Knit Beanie**

A beanie, lovingly handcrafted. This warm and fuzzy sensation isn't just because of the wool. +9 DEF

 **Fuzzy Clothes (LOST)**

 **Bed Sheet Ghost Costume (LOST)**

"I hope you cherish it" Celia fiddled with the sleeves of her coat and turned to Patta "It was nice to meet you. Don't go onto Mount Ebott, please"

"I'll try not to." Patta couldn't promise they wouldn't go. Originally they had planned to stop on the base of the mountain, but with the recent stuff they had found out about Mt. Ebott they feared Asriel would go missing in the very last part of the journey. It'd be quite a tragedy for him to die when his home was quite close. But of course, if Patta chose to escort Asriel to the entrance of the Underground then they were the ones in potential danger. "Also, don't give up, okay? Everything will get better! Just don't sit there waiting and doing nothing. Be ready to do your own efforts"

"I will! I was about to lose hopes of everything getting better but then I met Asriel. Everything will be fine, and it's thanks to him. Asriel...be careful, okay?" she approached and hugged Asriel "I hope nobody will try to hurt you..." she gave a guilt-ridden glance at the plastic knife she had left on top of the drawers "...but humans are not as good as they should be"

That opinion sure was kind of different from Patta and Ananas' opinion. It wasn't outright condemning humans but it didn't try to conceal there could be negative traits about them. To Asriel it didn't mean much, though. While she had attacked and almost killed him it was possible a monster would have tried to do the same to a human, even if the reasons were likely to be different. This didn't mean humans were bad, right?

-ooooo-

The inn was on the street right outside the warehouse, just like Frisk had said, just around thirty feet away. The two children were walking ahead, whispering to each other and laughing. At some point something Frisk whispered made Asriel yelp and practically run away back to Patta. Patta could see Asriel was blushing furiously. Before Patta could once again wonder how it was possible to see that through white fur Asriel pulled from their scarf. "What is it, goat kid?"

"I think Frisk has a crush on me"

Well that wasn't what they had expected. Patta looked at Frisk, who had a satisfied expression in their face. "Heh, what did they say?"

"They flirted with me! They said something..." Asriel made Patta bend over so he could whisper to them. "... they said something about the shine of the stars on my fur"

"What?!" Patta was more amused than anything else. That sure was a flowery flirting, especially for a child. "Wow, that was amazing"

"What do I do?"

"There's not much to be done. If it bothers you then tell them, but I wouldn't really take it seriously. Don't think too much about it" Patta said, looking at Frisk. Frisk was laughing quietly, clearly it wasn't meant to be taken seriously, just like Patta thought. Apparently it didn't really bother Asriel, it was more that it was unexpected.

Frisk pointed at the entrance of the Crème Brûlée inn. It seemed like a rather homely inn, a nice place to spend the night. Patta peeked through the entrance, checking how many people were in the lobby. Thankfully it was empty, except for the man behind the counter. Frisk entered first, went straight to the counter and waved. The man grinned warmly. "Frisk! Welcome. There's an available room tonight. Want to bring Celia and spend the night here?"

"Excuse me" Patta entered with Asriel going behind them. The monster kept his face hidden with the knit beanie.

"Welcome to the Crème Brûlée inn. Would you like a room for the night?"

"That'd be good. My name is Patta and-"

The man stood up. "Patta! I was starting to worry you'd never arrive. So that over there must be Asriel!" Asriel waved, still hiding his face, and approached the counter "You don't have to worry. I know you're a monster. Annie already informed me about everything"

Asriel, surprised, showed his face. "Ananas?"

"I call her Annie. She already paid for your room and expenses, guys. Don't worry about anything and enjoy the place" That was nice. Ananas, even if she hadn't answered her phone during the afternoon, at least tried to make things easier for them. "My name is Graham and I'll be your host and cook for the night and morning. If you need anything please tell me and I'll do my best to help" he smiled and gave Patta the key for a room upstairs.

"Nice! So you know Frisk?" they asked.

"Everybody knows Frisk. They're a good kid". If Frisk was so known then why were they still living in an abandoned house? That's what Patta was still wondering. "Celia and they sleep here when there's a room available"

Before Patta could continue the conversation to ask what they wanted to know some customers entered the lobby. Standing around with Asriel may not be a good idea, it was better to go to their room and get some sleep. Frisk informed them they'd bring Celia to sleep in the inn, so there was nothing else to be done for the night other than retiring to the room.

The room given to Asriel and Patta was simple enough. Two separate beds, a window showing the yard, a TV and a bathroom. It was nothing luxurious but to Patta it felt like a nice place to sleep in. They felt very grateful towards Ananas for having paid for it, now that they were a bit short on cash they really needed to appreciate this.

Asriel jumped onto a bed and practically fell asleep instantly. He was still weak after the fight with Celia, even if he had tried his best to not to show it. Patta tucked him in, wishing him a good night, and decided they needed some time to think. This had been a...rather different day than usual. When was the last time they had drawn, or gotten onto a plane, or talked with children, or even bother to think about where they were going in their life? Asriel arriving out of nowhere under their dining room table certainly had rocked their world.

-ooooo-

An hour later Patta returned to the lobby. They just couldn't sleep; they had too many things in mind. "Graham, I need a cigarette" they said, leaning on the counter. Graham, who at that point had been flipping through the guest book, passed the requested item to Patta. "Please go outside"

"Thank you" They didn't smoke very often, just when they felt they had stress bottled inside them. And today, despite a few good moments, had been pretty stressful, in their opinion. Patta exited the inn, going to the stone extension that was the terrace. Several tables with umbrellas were placed there, some of them occupied by guests. Patta went to a corner of the stone terrace, lighted up the cigarette and took a drag.

Patta was pretty much aware they had not been very useful so far. Asriel had been on the surface for two days and all Patta had managed to be useful for was to locate Mt. Ebott. Everything else they had done had gone wrong or was something other people did for them.

Asriel had created the temporal disguise, even if it was just a bed sheet. Patta's plan to pass through the airport problems had failed since the beginning. Ananas had been the one to solve it. Patta's attempt to find the inn had ended in an embarrassing failure. Even their attempt to protect Asriel by going first into that dark warehouse had gone wrong because Asriel had gone away for a moment! They really needed to get their game on if they wanted to succeed in their goal.

"It has been just a day. There's time to do something right, don't think about it too hard, Patta" they muttered to themselves, staring at the chewed butt of the cigarette "All will be fine. You just need to do some effort" Those were some pretty empty encouraging words, and his tone didn't sound very cheerful or strong either. Sighing, they put the cigarette in their mouth again and closed their eyes, just listening to the sounds around them.

It was a calm night, there was a breeze, and was that the sound of a cicada? Slowly they started to relax.

"...monster...the street. Can you believe..."

Patta's eyes shot open. There were three guests left in the terrace, sitting at one of the tables. They were sure they had heard correctly, a monster! This wasn't a good sign. After extinguishing the cigarette they approached the guests. "Excuse me; did I hear something about a monster?"

"You heard right. One of my neighbors said they saw a white furred monster walking on the street, wearing a poncho"

Well they were screwed. The secret was out. "Really? Mind telling more? Where did they see a monster?"

"Like ten streets away from here. But I wouldn't worry too much if I were you" the second man said.

"Oh, come on, give your pal some credit" the woman piped up.

"But you know how he is! I wouldn't be surprised if he had been hitting the 'shrooms minutes before seeing the supposed monster, if you know what I mean" the second man scoffed.

"So it's not a reliable person" Patta felt some relief. It didn't invalidate the possible danger, though. If one person saw Asriel then it's possible more than one person has seen something. "Did anybody try to find the monster?"

"I think a couple people tried, but they found nothing" the first man replied.

"They wasted their time. Monsters don't exist" the second one condescendingly said, stirring the cup of coffee he had.

"And even if monsters existed why would one be up here? The legend says they are trapped underground"

"...it'd be nice if monsters lived up here in the surface" the woman said "Imagine that. The world would be a better place"

"As if. Monsters got locked underground for a reason. They must be a danger for humanity"

Patta narrowed their eyes. "Or maybe humanity is a danger for the monsters". The guests went silent, considering what Patta had just said.

"I can't argue with that. The legend just says a war happened but not why. Perhaps it was because of fear" the second man mused "Wouldn't be the first time it happens"

"And if monsters get out will another war happen?"

"...maybe there will be a second war. It depends if monsters are friendly or not" the woman said and stood up. "I'm going back inside. I'll visit you tomorrow, guys". Patta, supposing this meant the short conversation about monsters was finished, returned inside.

That wasn't a good sign at all. At least one person had seen Asriel enough to actually give a cursory description of the monster. They had not been careful enough. Patta tried to convince themselves it was not that bad, if people were suspecting a monster was around then the rumor would be more widespread than this, wouldn't it? But that wasn't enough to convince anybody everything was alright. Deciding this was something Asriel needed to know in the morning Patta returned inside.

When they approached the lobby to pass to the second floor they stopped for a moment to make sure they had the key. Graham was still sitting behind the counter, muttering to himself and focused on the phone. "Come on, Ciruel, answer the phone... There's a monster, a genuine, tangible, real monster here and you refuse to pick up the phone..."

"A-HEM!" Patta made the most theatric throat clearing they could do, but Graham didn't get startled and hang up like they expected. Instead he calmly turned his head around, acknowledged Patta's presence and hung up, as if he had been doing nothing wrong.

"What may I do for you?" Graham asked, playing the role of the dedicated inn owner.

Patta got close to Graham and whispered in case somebody was nearby. "I don't need to remind you Asriel's presence here is supposed to be a secret, do I?"

"Of course not. I know what I'm doing, don't worry about that"

"What were you doing?"

"Trying to talk to a friend. He's somebody we can trust, I can guarantee that. You trust Annie and me, don't you?"

Patta did trust Ananas but this Graham man was a complete stranger right now. Not only that, he was already trying to spread the word around to other people. After those guests' conversation the perspective of more people knowing about Asriel had Patta a bit jittery. "No, don't tell anybody else. We don't need anybody else to know and that's the final word about this matter, okay?"

Graham stared at him for a moment. "...alright. I won't try again, but I insist I was doing nothing that could go wrong". Patta's expression showed there really was no room for discussion. Satisfied and hoping that was enough to get Graham to keep his mouth shut about Asriel they returned to their inn room. Graham drummed his fingers against the counter, thoughtful, and decided to listen to Patta.

He stood up from his seat and went to the doors to make sure they were closed, but when he turned the lock something got into his mind. He...wasn't sure what that was or why it happened, but now he had a nagging feeling. He felt the call to Ciruel was needed even if Patta rejected the idea. But right now it was too late to attempt again, maybe Ciruel was already asleep. He'd need to wait until the next morning.


	9. Light Blue SOUL

Three days remained.

A new day had started. Asriel yawned, waking up before Patta. He stood up, looking around and a tad disoriented. Once again he had awoken in a place he didn't know. It took a moment for his memories of the last two days to return.

Right. He was still on the surface. What day was today, again? There was a calendar pinned to the wall.

 **12th**

* * *

 _I have been thinking...timelines are weird stuff, aren't they? I would have thought they would be malleable, that there would be infinite possibilities, but after all this time I see that was wrong. I mean, I can't do much. All I can do is see the timelines in action, maybe nudge them in a direction, but even then my influence is very limited. I have almost no control in the Underground; the only thing I can change at all is the time of Asriel's existence, whether it's in the time of Chara's childhood four hundred years ago or in the present - when everybody else existed -. And over the surface all I can do is direct a handful of humans in some ways during the recent four hundred years. Even then, I must have done something wrong when I first recreated the timeline because all the human SOULs lived in the exact opposite order they should have._

 _Sometimes my attempts to manipulate the timeline don't even work. But something I just can't seem to understand is why everything seems to be so **linear**. Everybody acts exactly the same way. I suppose only a huge change would make them behave differently. _

_Chara and Asriel behave exactly the same every time, with the expected consequences. Toriel and Asgore grieve, and soon Asgore declares war. There's no time at all when Toriel leaves before the first human SOUL is given to Asgore and she sees he had no intention to go through with the war._

 _Maybe if she had left at any point between Asriel's death and the Light Blue Soul being given to Asgore then maybe many things would have been different. For example: Celia maybe wouldn't have died._

 _Too bad I can't change that in any way if I choose to make Celia fall Underground._

 _Poor Celia, lost and confused in the Ruins. She didn't do half bad at first. While she is fearful of monsters, Froggits and Whimsun are as harmless as it can be. She wasn't afraid of a frog bigger than any other she had ever seen, and Whimsun are so meek she felt sorry for them._

 _The problems started when she walked further into the Ruins. The puzzles were difficult for her, and the monsters she encountered didn't help to calm her down. She was wary of Moldsmals but kept her composure. Vegetoids, Migosps and Loox were completely different matters, though. Those were exactly what she had expected monsters to be._

 _She freaked out. Celia ran through the Ruins, screaming every time she encountered a monster, even those she hadn't been afraid before. Soon she arrived to what was Toriel's house. Unfortunately Toriel hadn't been living there. The house was completely unfurnished, full of dust, but to Celia it represented a temporal shelter. She even found the basement hall towards the rest of the Underground, but she wasn't able to open the door at the end._

 _So, Celia lived in the Ruins, in what would be Toriel's house. Usually she lasts around two weeks. Those...were very unhappy days for her. Completely alone, fearful of going outside, with no food, no water and nothing to keep herself busy with._

 _That's no condition for a little girl to live in, much less in a place she didn't know at all. She tried to stay inside that house all the time, going outside when she hoped the monsters were asleep. She'd gather water from the canals she could find, that was her only option. Food was much harder to find, though. She didn't eat more than a few leaves during her stay, finding them absolutely disgusting and useless. Starvation is basically what sealed her fate. She believed in patience, so she spent all this time waiting for things to get better._

 _Extremely weak, her desperation overtook her completely, breaking all the restraint and patience she had enforced. She ventured outside of the house to search for a Vegetoid. That was a vegetable, she didn't care it was alive, she needed to eat! She slowly staggered around the Ruins, trying not to faint. Several monsters tried to approach to help but she held all of them at bay with her toy knife. 'You all want to kill me...you all want to kill and eat me, don't you? I...I won't let..." she muttered every time one of them approached. Some monsters tried to calm her down but she didn't listen to any of her words._

 _Little and fearful Celia, she must have suffered so much...she finally managed to find a Vegetoid near her house, on a balcony with a great view of Home. She...she didn't try to ask for help. She went straight into attacking, trying to weaken it enough so she could take a bite. She was too weak to fight and dodge anything, though, and the Vegetoid, feeling the hostility and desperation, reacted accordingly._

 _..._

 _...not many people would get killed by a Vegetoid._

 _Asgore was notified a human SOUL was available in the Ruins. He took the news quite well. He went to the Ruins, collected the SOUL and Celia's corpse, and returned to the castle. Toriel was quite happy, and once Asgore brought the SOUL she advised him to cross the barrier and bring six SOULs more. Human SOULs persisted after death, after all, theoretically there are bound to be SOULs in graveyards and similar places. It was an easy way to end monsters' imprisonment._

 _But Asgore, after what happened to Asriel...well, I understand why he must have feared for monsters' safety. He firmly refused to cross the barrier and get more SOULs, hoping that by the time they gathered enough SOULs to break the barrier humanity wouldn't be so aggressive against monsters._

 _Toriel was disgusted...she left Asgore and the castle, instead choosing to banish herself into the Ruins. Celia had fallen and died there, wouldn't it to be expected that, if other humans fell Underground, they'd fall into the Ruins too? Maybe she could prevent their deaths. The Ruins were such an unkind place for humans; she could fix that and provide them with food, safety and a home._

 _It goes unsaid by now it never went like she hoped, but at least she tried._

* * *

The twelfth! Asriel was still sure the correct date of his arrival into Patta's house was the fifteenth of the month; he still had no idea why the date was wrong. For some reason, the more the correct date approached, the more dread he felt.

His thoughts were interrupted when Patta's cellphone started to ring. He still had it in his pocket, not having given it back to Patta yet. Going outside of the room wasn't a good idea, so Asriel entered the bathroom so his conversation wouldn't awaken Patta. The cellphone showed who was calling, it was Ananas. The voice that sounded through the receiver confirmed it.

"Mornin' pardner. I noticed there are some missed calls. Do you need me for anythin'?"

"Ananas! Howdy!" Asriel greeted. Her voice lightened up once she knew she was talking with the monster child.

"Asriel, nice to hear about you again! Is everythin' okay? Is Patta treatin' you well?" Asriel informed her there were no problems, and that the reason for the missing calls was some minor problems. There was no need to tell her about the exact situation he had gone through, after all they were solved and gone. "Nice, nice. There's another reason why I'm callin', squirt. Let me share with you what the wind has told me:

So here I was, making breakfast for my children, when one of my neighbors came to visit me. Usual stuff, nothin' unusual, but then she starts talkin' to me about monsters. Monsters, a topic nobody I know has ever touched before"

Asriel felt his heartbeat starting to speed up. This wasn't going where he thought it was going, was it? Ananas continued, her voice starting to shake. "We didn' talk for long, but when I asked why she was talkin' about that she said somethin' that worried me a lot: she said...a monster was seen in this city. Do you know anythin' about that?"

"No! We have been careful, there should have been nobody who-"

"Wake up and smell the cactus flowers, squirt! If you got seen then you two weren' careful enough. With some luck it won' be heard about again after today, seems to be only a rumor. But this got me thinkin' about what we talked in the plane, about you fightin'. You haven' forgotten your promise, have you?"

Ananas was starting to be overbearing. Asriel had barely managed to say a few words between her berating, but to him it seemed her pushy behavior was because she was very worried Asriel would be found out. "I haven't forgotten, I just haven't needed to fight with anyone"

"We'll be meetin' this afternoon. We're goin' to work on your fightin' skills, and I won' accept a no for an answer, squirt. If the word gets spread around I'm certain you'll have to do defend yourself at some point"

"But it would be better to go to Mount Ebott as soon as possible" That was supposed to be the plan, then he wouldn't need to fight anybody. Why was she interested in this now, then?

Ananas hesitated. "Change of plans. You and they shouldn't get going yet, not with the rumor going around. Do you mind that? Waitin' another day?"

Asriel was once again conflicted between going home as soon as possible and spending more time on the surface. He had been gone for two days; his parents must be really worried. The Prince of All Monsters has disappeared without a trace! That's an emergency that concerns everybody.

He knew the first thing to do would be to check the last place he had been seen in. That meant they'd surely ask W.D. Gaster, the current Royal Scientist, and his assistants about it, after all, now that he thought about it, that's where he had been before...before he found himself in that strange void.

That void...there had been two people in there, right? He couldn't remember the details, nor did he want to think about that. He still shuddered when he thought about the strange events in the void. What mattered was that he remembered he had gone to Gaster's laboratory in the CORE.

Pushing those thoughts out of his head, Asriel focused back onto Ananas' question. In his opinion she was right, if humans were on the lookout for monsters then going outside could be very dangerous. Patta had the last word, though. They'd decide about this once they woke up.

"Squirt? Are you still there?" Ananas asked. Asriel, realizing he had left Ananas hanging for too long, hurriedly replied.

"It's fine! I'm okay with that"

"Good. I'll tell Patta myself this afternoon. Until then please stay inside the inn, okay? I'll talk with Graham now. Take care, squirt!" and she hung up. Asriel stared at the phone for a few seconds, feelings pangs of worry. Humans were starting to suspect his presence but that didn't mean that would be a problem, right?

...why couldn't he say that to himself with confidence...?

For now Asriel decided Patta needed to know about this. He opened the door of the bathroom and returned to the bedroom, ready to wake them up.


	10. Honey-Glazed Ham

**Seriously, FIGHTs don't work very well in written format. I really wish this website could have GIFs inserted in the story.**

* * *

Asriel had expected Patta to scowl and get frustrated, but all they did was to sigh wearily and nod. "I know, Asriel. I heard about it last night" They proceeded to tell Asriel the few things they had heard in the terrace the night before. They had just confirmed to each other they did have reasons to be worried about.

"It isn't like we can erase everybody's memories" Patta stood up from the bed "So all we'll need to do is be even more careful"

"About that..." Asriel informed Patta about Ananas' intention to come to the inn to talk with them to delay the journey to Mt. Ebott, but didn't say anything about her intentions to practically force Asriel to be willing to use his magical attacks to defend himself. That was something he thought was better to deal personally with her. Patta didn't need to know about that part of her visit.

Patta shook their head, sighing again. "Fan. Tas. Tic. I don't think that's good. In my opinion, the quicker we get to Mt. Ebott the better. Waiting another day won't help anyone"

"We can't go outside! I'll get caught"

"She has a car. As long as you don't peek out of the window like a dog you should be fine. She wouldn't deny us a little help"

Patta had a point there. It wasn't like people were going to check into the cars to see who was in. It would actually be pretty easy to get to Mt. Ebott that way. They could be there before sunset.

Despite everything neither Asriel nor Patta planned to stay locked in the inn room until Ananas arrived. It'd be several hours before that happened. To make sure the coast was clear Patta went out. Their mission was to see how populated was the inn, with some luck Asriel could get breakfast outside of the bedroom. Did this inn even have a dining room?

When they descended the stairs they found Frisk sitting in the chairs of the lobby, nibbling onto a pear. "Hey, Frisk" they said. Frisk waved and continued eating their fruit, relaxed. "Where's Celia?" Frisk pointed at the entrance door. So she was already gone, returning to the abandoned house.

Graham was once again in the spot Patta was getting used to seeing him in: behind the reception desk. He was flipping through the pages of the guest book, muttering to himself. He raised his head when Patta approached. "Good morning, esteemed guest. Did you have a nice night?"

They hadn't. Although they had gone outside to smoke and relax, hearing the rumors about Asriel undid all the relaxation, and since they really didn't want to smoke another cigarette they had to return to the room and stew in their strained mood. They had fallen asleep like two hours before Asriel awoke him, so right now they were feeling very tired. "It was _heavenly_ , thank you"

Graham either ignored or didn't notice Patta's tone, instead smiling pleasantly. "I'm glad to hear that. So!" he closed the guest book "I got some good news for you. Annie called a while ago and she has asked me a favor: to keep you and Asriel in here until she arrived. Are you fine with that?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I was wondering where I could get some breakfast for Asriel and me"

"Let me tell you something: as much as it pains me to say it...this isn't the most popular inn in the city" Graham stood up, gesturing Patta to follow him "This isn't a good time for tourists, either. The inn is completely empty except for you, him and Frisk, the couple guests I had last night already left"

That was certainly good for stealth purposes, and certainly bad for business purposes. "Sorry to hear that"

"Don't be sorry. It's fine! Bring Asriel, I'm going to cook a nice breakfast for you, him and Frisk to enjoy" Graham had started to put on an apron without waiting for Patta's reply. They weren't going to protest, there was food! That by itself was enough to convince them. "This is no hotel so there's no dining room but I'll see what I can do"

-ooooo-

What Graham had said was true; the inn was empty except for them three and it was going to stay like that for the rest of the day. He had placed signs indicating there were no available rooms and locked the doors, ensuring nobody would bother them.

The three guests could see by now Graham really liked to cook. They could hear him, singing to himself while finishing the breakfast he had promised to give them. Now that he didn't have to keep the professional behavior, he was letting his true personality shine more: a jolly man who tried his best to make the people around him enjoy themselves.

To Asriel that was what being kind was all about.

The promised breakfast was better than he had expected, too. When Patta had returned to the room and told him he didn't have to be afraid of being seen he had felt relief. Frisk had been waiting for him in the lobby, and while they together for breakfast to be ready many exquisite aromas filled the place.

"It's not much but I hope you enjoy" Graham welcomed them in the kitchen. He was wearing an apron and seemed rather happy to be in the place he loved. Although the inn didn't include food in its services, the place had a large kitchen, with so many appliances Patta was surprised Graham had all of them in optimal conditions. In the table in the center of the kitchen there was a feast.

"All that...is for us?" Asriel couldn't believe all he was seeing. Graham hadn't been there for long, how did he manage to cook all this stuff for them? Jars of drinks, both cold and hot, at least three variances of dishes with eggs, plates filled with hams, bacon and sausages, bowls of fruits arranged artistically...and several other things more. It was practically what anyone would imagine when they thought of the word 'breakfast' and all that was for them.

"Is it too much? I don't know the personal tastes of you two, so I prepared a bit of everything" Graham was beaming with pride, standing on one end of the table.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Asriel sat and started eating as if he feared everything would vanish if he didn't confirm it was real. Seeing Asriel so amazed by what he did made Graham smile, joining them onto the table.

Not even between the four of them they managed to eat everything that was on the table. Patta had to admit Graham was a superb cook, even though everything he had cooked was simple, all of that had so many subtle touches and flavors they couldn't understand how he managed to do all this in such a short time.

"Graham, this was amazing" Patta said, satisfied "This is much more than I expected"

"Oh, don't mention it! I did it gladly" Graham chuckled "Frisk, take this to Celia. I'm sure she'll be happy to have a nice warm breakfast" he put some of the food in a container, passing it to Frisk. Frisk nodded, smiling widely, and ran out of the kitchen with the container. Graham followed them to open the door, leaving Patta and Asriel behind.

"Well, looks like today we will spend the day in this inn" Patta said "I won't lie, I'd rather us to get away of here. I don't trust that Graham guy"

"Why not? He made all that food for us, he gave us a room...he wants to help us" Asriel said with conviction.

"That sounds so naive I don't even know where to start" Patta poked some of the leftovers with a fork.

Asriel was in silence for a moment, organizing his train of thought "..it's the same stuff you did for me, Patta" that made them stop, listening intently "You didn't have to take care of me, or take me home. You gave me a home and food for a day. I trusted you, and so far I know it has been the correct thing to do.

Why can't you trust him if he's doing what you already did?"

Patta left the fork aside. "I hadn't thought of it like that. I suppose it's natural for humans to be wary of each other"

"I can't understand that" Asriel murmured. Monsters implicitly trusted each other. It wasn't to say two monsters meeting for the first time would be friends immediately, or that one of them wouldn't do something that would break that trust.

It was more like they would give the other person a chance, even if the first impression wasn't good. They were willing to believe, and that's why monsters had grown to be a tight-knit community.

Asriel had trusted Patta almost instantly. He had believed Patta was a kind person who wouldn't hurt them, and it had ended being right! That's why he couldn't understand why, despite Graham's apparent good intentions, Patta was so distrustful.

Maybe it was part of what being an adult meant.

Patta did know why they didn't trust Graham, though. It was mostly because of what they had seen him try to do last night, telling other people about Asriel. That had made a big impression in them, how were they supposed to trust him after something like that? Still, maybe Asriel was right. Maybe they had to leave that behind and give Graham a chance.

...now that they thought about it, why didn't they tell Asriel about Graham's attempted call? Asriel could stand it, and at least that way he would understand why Patta was reluctant about trusting the innkeeper. It couldn't be that Patta didn't trust Asriel, would it?

No, that was exactly what was going on. _Patta didn't trust Asriel yet._

"Patta, are you okay?" The realization must have made Patta tense because Asriel noticed it. Patta stood up, trying their best to look like nothing had happened.

"I'm okay, kid. I'll just go outside to the lobby for a moment" Why didn't they trust Asriel? They didn't understand that yet. Asriel was a harmless monster; there was no reason not to trust him.

Deep in those thoughts, they went to the lobby. Graham was right in front of the door, staring intently at his cellphone. Patta couldn't say for sure, but the first thought they had was that they were trying to call that Ciruel guy again.

Ciruel, that was the name of the author of the book about monsters they had found in the town library. Of course that person would be interested in a monster who was over the surface.

Patta stared for a couple minutes, trying to see what he'd do. Graham didn't attempt to call, though. When he moved it wasn't to dial, he instead put the phone away as if he had changed his mind.

Before Patta could go and ask something a knock sounded on the door. Graham peeked through the window and opened the door. It was Frisk, coming back. Deciding this was not the moment to talk with Graham they returned to the kitchen.

Graham, quite chipper, brought Frisk back onto the kitchen. "Asriel, do you mind if I ask a couple questions? I want to know a few things about monster culture" Talking about his home was something that always made Asriel happy. He brightened up, inviting Graham to ask whatever he wished to ask. Graham cleaned his hands in the apron, eyeing the kitchen with fondness.

"I want to know about monster cuisine! It must be so different from human food. I want to know all about that" That was to be expected, after knowing what Graham's hobby was. Frisk, having interest in the conversation, got comfy to listen. Asriel tilted his head, amused.

"It's not that different! Most of our food is the same than human food, I think"

Graham's smile didn't falter but judging by the way his shoulders dropped it seemed he had some high hopes about that. Patta, feeling bad for him, piped up.

"Asriel eats snails" they said. Asriel immediately whimpered, while Frisk looked at him, intrigued, and Graham watched with surprise "What? It wasn't a secret or something, was it?"

"No! It's just that I, uh..." Asriel stared at his claws "...that I thought humans didn't like snails. Have you tried snails before, Frisk?" Frisk shook their head.

Graham looked at the fridge. "I have snails here, if you want"

Asriel's eyes widened. "Really? Why do you have snails?"

"I was looking for exotic recipes and found one that needed snails. They arrived a couple days ago but I didn't have the chance to do anything yet. If you know any recipes with snails we could try to make it!"

The chance of cooking something with snails was a chance Asriel wasn't going to let go. It would be as if he were home again! "Yes. Yes, I know one!" he was getting excited, standing up from the table. "Mom likes to make snail pie very often. I think I can remember the recipe!"

"Snail pie" Patta wasn't surprised such thing existed in Asriel's world. Oh well, it wasn't like they were planning to give it a try.

Graham was the opposite, though. "I haven't ever eaten a snail. This could be a great first time! Let's all make a snail pie, all of us together"

Needless to say, the perspective of cooking a pie, even one made of snails, livened up the atmosphere a lot. Even Patta was fine with taking part of the process; after all they knew how to cook. It was part of having lived by themselves for so long, cooking was a necessary skill for that.

"Before we start I need a moment to prepare the kitchen and get everything ready. Let's meet here again in ten minutes, okay?" Graham smiled. Nobody had any objections to that, so Asriel and Frisk ran out of the kitchen to the lobby, chattering animatedly about what they were going to do. Patta followed them; feeling like everything was going to be okay. Even if they weren't able to go to Mt. Ebott that day it didn't mean it would be a bad day! But in the way Graham's call from last night crossed Patta's mind again. They needed to talk to the innkeeper about that or they wouldn't find peace. Better to deal that now than leaving it for later.

"That reminds me, I have to ask Graham something" Patta said, going to return to the kitchen. Their excuse, in case anybody asked, was to see if it would be possible to get Graham's help to form some sort of plan, in case Ananas refused to use her car to take them to Mt. Ebott. Fortunately neither Asriel nor Frisk inquired about this, so Patta was able to go away without anyone following them. Patta opened the door to the kitchen. "Graham, I was wondering if you-"

Nobody was in there. Graham was supposed to be here, getting the kitchen ready for snail pie cooking, but he was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, Patta crossed the kitchen and went to the window. There he was!

Graham was outside, once again with his cellphone, but this time it was different. Something in his expression showed he wasn't going to stop this time, he was going to call. Gritting their teeth Patta exited the kitchen to go to the terrace to confront them, but just when they arrived to the back door of the inn they stopped. The person Graham was calling to had finally answered the phone.

Stopping in their tracks, Patta decided to listen. "Ciruel, good morning! I have been trying to call you since last night. Why didn't you pick up the phone?

You're travelling? Worst timing ever, you have no idea what's going on here. What? No, I didn't get in trouble again! It's a monster. There's a monster here over the surface, and he's right here in my inn" Graham stopped, listening."

I don't think monsters are free, it's only this one. When are you coming to take a look? ...tomorrow afternoon? You have to be kidding, right? No, I can't keep him here until then. First than all there's another person with them, so-"

Patta approached closer. So this Ciruel author was going to come to the inn the next day in the afternoon. That wasn't that much of a problem. Asriel, Frisk and them would be gone by then.

That didn't make them be less frustrated, though. This was exactly what they didn't want Graham to do. This was getting out of control, and if Ciruel made the rumor be even stronger, especially since they had a location, this was bound to turn into a complete disaster. Patta clenched their fists, feeling their anger grow.

Graham had continued his phone conversation "...no, the companion is a human. There's only one monster, a child. Stop groaning, it isn't like you'll have to raise him."

...what was Ciruel planning? They weren't planning to kidnap Asriel or something like that, right? Patta's breathing got harsher. Graham paced from side to side of the terrace, listening to what Ciruel was asking.

"...no. His human companion won't be any trouble. I can deal with them. They won't stop you, I can help you with that"

That settled it. The conversation had made so many alarms sound Patta was already preparing themselves to stroll to Patta and demand an explanation. Graham seemed to be finishing the conversation by now.

"I can't promise I'll be able to keep the monster here, but I'll try my best. They won't be leaving today, either way. Just come back as soon as possible, okay, Ciruel? Your chance is here, don't lose it!"

And that was the end of the conversation. Graham hung up and walked back into the inn, going to the kitchen. Patta was gone by now. They had taken a decision. First things first: make sure the kids didn't get in the way. Asriel would try to calm them down, but what did Asriel know? Graham was not to be trusted! And Frisk, oh, come on. Frisk would try to stop them; too, they'd try to make them find a solution that didn't involve a confrontation. That wouldn't lead anywhere.

No, Patta wouldn't get the kids involved. They'd deal with this as they thought it was correct. They'd try to force Graham to give a very good explanation of several things: what was going on, why he had not kept Asriel's presence a secret and what was Ciruel planning to do.

"Hey, Asriel" they called, peeking into the lobby. Asriel and Frisk were together, waiting and talking merrily. The kids stood up.

"Is it ready?" Asriel asked, barely restraining himself from running towards the kitchen.

"Actually, Graham and I aren't done talking. I was going to ask you and Frisk to stay here until I come here again. It won't be for too long"

Patta felt a pang of guilt when they saw Asriel's momentarily crestfallen expression. Frisk kept the same poker face they usually had. "Oh...that is okay"

"Great. Thank you, Asriel" Patta replied. Frisk raised their eyebrows almost unnoticeably, approaching Patta. They stared at him intently until they finally asked:

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, all is fine. Don't worry" Patta looked away. Was the tempestuous frustration they were feeling really that obvious? Before Frisk or Asriel could question them they closed the door to the lobby and returned to the kitchen.

Graham was taking out ingredients from the fridge, the snails they had mentioned included. While Graham crouched to check inside a drawer for spoons and similar utensils Patta stepped forward. How were they going to get Graham to admit they were a person who had betrayed their trust? Nobody accepts that outright, especially when they are pretending to be as kind as he tried to make himself out to be.

"Intimidation" Patta muttered quietly. That seemed to be the only way. They looked around; finding nearby what would be his weapon.

There was a meat tenderizer left on the kitchen counter, perhaps left to be used on the snails...somehow. It was rather large, for a tenderizer, he could almost grasp the mallet-like tool as if it were a real hammer. Attacking with that object wouldn't be effective, but just like with any other weapon, it could do some harm if one hit the correct spot.

 **Meat Tenderizer**

 _Tame the wildest steaks and the most stubborn escallops. +6 ATK_

They didn't plan to hurt Graham. All they wanted was to intimidate him enough to get him to confess, and then see where to go from there. Once the cook admitted they were doing something wrong Patta planned to get him to fix his wrongdoing, perhaps tell Ciruel the monster was gone. The frustration stewing inside them fueled those thoughts. Maybe if they had been calmer, maybe if they had let Frisk or Asriel stop them from seeing how irrational they were being, they wouldn't have dared to do this.

All they had in their mind was find some answers as to why Graham had broken their trust...more concretely, Asriel's trust he was trying to help them.

* * *

 _I can't believe I seriously thought wielding a meat tenderizer against somebody was the right thing to do, even if it was only to intimidate him. And just how despicable was I, daring to justify my actions with Asriel's feelings? If he had known what I was doing he would have felt even worse than how he'd have felt from Graham's actions._

 _I regret so many things..._

* * *

Patta hid the tenderizer behind the counter. "Graham!" they called. Graham, who in that moment had taken out two frying pans out of the cupboard to search further into it, raised his head and grinned.

"Hi there! Everything is almost ready. Could you please call Asriel and Frisk-"

"Do you remember what we talked about last night? The part about not telling anyone about Asriel?"

"I remember that. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody"

Patta almost went slack-jawed. How could Graham lie and keep a straight face? Something stirred inside them; it was the combination of many negative feelings. The fear of Asriel being discovered by humans, the lack of sleep, the betrayal felt from Graham's call to Ciruel, the fear from Graham dealing with them so Ciruel could take Asriel away...those and many other minor feelings mixed together, fueling the intimidation intention they had. "You...you are lying. You are lying shamelessly. Did you really think such a barefaced lie would work?"

Graham's smile faltered. "Am I lying?"

"I heard the conversation you had less than ten minutes ago. You told that Ciruel person about Asriel" The frustration reached its maximum point "You are going to give Asriel to that person! What are they going to do? What are you going to be complicit of?"

"H-Hey, you're getting the wrong idea, Patta..."

"Then tell me what's going on! How are you going to stop me from interfering? Because that's what you said you will do! You will stop me!"

Graham's hand slowly got to the frying pan. "Look, it's somewhat complicated, I don't know how to say it-"

"Give it a try!" Patta's hands flew upwards in exasperation, accidentally revealing what Patta had in their hand. Fearing being attacked, Graham grabbed both frying pans. This wasn't going well, and he seemed to sense that, if he didn't explain the situation, the reasons they called Ciruel despite Patta's insistence not to, things could get real ugly.

He couldn't say the words, though. He wasn't good at speaking under pressure, he needed time to think. Graham had to think of some way to placate Patta before anybody got hurt. "Let's sit, have a nice meal, and talk about-" he suddenly stopped, unsure how to continue. Graham was unnerved and couldn't think straight.

Patta stepped forward. To them something was clear: Graham was trying to change the topic. To Patta that was a blatant sign of culpability. They really wanted to stop, though; they tried to beg to Graham to speak now, but no word came out of their mouth. Patta didn't actually want to hurt Graham, but this didn't seem to go like they had wanted to. Had their intimidation not worked?

...or perhaps it hadn't been enough intimidation?

 ***Graham defends himself!**

Now Patta was sure he was seeing something. It was hidden behind Graham's frying pans, but he could see a glimpse of something green. Was it Graham's SOUL? Most likely. The kitchen around the two of them had also darkened, and Patta could see their own SOUL floating in front of them. It was of a pale red, like salmon.

Graham had that smile in his face, like he was waiting for Patta to finally stop being a brat and listen. As if this were Patta's fault! Which...it definitely was true, but they weren't willing to admit they were overreacting. Patta thought for a moment, Graham was not willing to budge.

 ***FIGHT - Graham**

So they decided to give a test attack. Just to show they could attack, maybe that would push Graham to speak. Patta jumped forward and swung the meat tenderizer towards Graham's gut. If the attack hit it was going to sting a bit, maybe leave a bruise, but it'd be far from being harmful. Anybody would be able to just shake it off.

However Graham didn't let it hit him. He moved one of the frying pans, blocking the hit. A metalling noise rang through the kitchen, making Patta back off. "Woah!" they exclaimed, eyeing the frying pan.

Graham lifted it in front of his face, checking the consequences of the attack. It had a dent on it, bending the bottom of the pan inwards. "Oh no. This won't be any good. This will be something you'll have to pay for, buddy! "

"I-I will, it was not my intention to damage it!" Just how strong were they hitting? However something in Patta's tone made Graham decide what to do. He now had an idea how to deal with this.

"It's fine. So you want to know why I called Ciruel" He stepped forward, frying pans ready to defend himself.

On the floor and underneath Patta's SOUL appeared a line of flames, in a way resembling Asriel's magical fire attacks. Some of those flames grew in size, trying to reach Patta's SOUL, butPatta willed to not to get hit at all. This was easy.

 ***ACT – CHECK**

 ***GRAHAM ATK 27 DEF 24**

 ***Kindness makes betrayal hurt even more.**

Patta intended that non-violent action to be a sign of good will, a form of encouragement for Graham to start talking. The innkeeper understood but kept the frying pans ready to defend himself.

Patta touched the spiky face of the tenderizer, listening. Graham, keeping that smile, spoke while they kept advancing. Patta continued backing off, so Graham was now the one leading the way. "All I want is people to be happy. That isn't so bad, right? I wanted Ciruel to be happy"

The flames on the floor hadn't vanished yet. Instead, what seemed to be an huge bowl appeared on the fire, and from above stuff started to fall on the bowl, Patta's SOUL being on the way. Eggs, flour and milk, mostly.

 ***ACT – Apologize**

 ***You try to apologize but the words get stuck in your throat**

 ***Graham understands, though**

Patta tried to say they were sorry for trying to attack him but no word came out, maybe because interrupting Graham to tell him that wasn't appropriate. The will to apologize was conveyed well enough in Patta's expression, so Graham at least got the message.

"He has a dream. He wants to see a monster, talk to them, and learn more about them. And here I had a monster in my inn. You see where I'm going, right?"

There was sludge in the strange magical bowl. A spoon fell into the mix and started stirring it, carelessly spilling the content onto the fire. Patta had the feeling that, whatever this whole FIGHT thing meant, Graham didn't have any intention to hurt them. That didn't mean they were going to leave their SOUL in the same place and let it get hit by anything, though.

 ***MERCY – Spare**

"His family has studied monsters for generations! And it's his destiny to follow that same path" he said almost passionately. Patta could see that Graham really cared for Ciruel's dream. They could now start to understand why Graham had disobeyed their request to not to call. The spoon moved quicker than before, acquiring orange and light blue colors intermittently.

 ***MERCY – Spare**

Graham looked to a side, thoughtful. "It wouldn't be right if I denied him the chance to achieve his goals. It's not to say I didn't consider you two's feelings, it's just that..." The mix in the bowl had been finished stirring. It divided into three smaller containers, lying on the fire on the floor.

 ***MERCY – Spare**

"...if you had the chance to help another person achieve their dream, wouldn't you take it?" The more Graham talked, the more he approached Patta and the fridge. Patta found themselves less willing to attack, they were starting to see just how much they were overreacting.

Helping others achieve their dream was not bad, but was it necessary for it to be at the cost of Asriel's potential wellbeing? Was Ciruel somebody they could really trust?

By now it was obvious for Patta what the magical show on the floor below their SOUL was, too. Graham's subconscious magic, if that's what this was, was baking something.

 ***MERCY – Spare**

"I should have explained to you and Asriel before, but after what happened last night I was sure you would say 'no'"

 ***MERCY – Spare**

"And look how you're reacting! You tried to hit me with a meat tenderizer. That's not how people should react" His smile faltered, glaring at Patta.

There was no malicious intent, and even if Graham was very disappointed of Patta it seemed he was willing to leave it behind. There had been no real damage done, but Patta feared they had gone too far in their intimidation attempt.

"I'm very sorry for this, Graham, I lost my mind without reason" they started saying, but Graham raised the damaged frying pan.

"This won't be fixed with apologies but I will accept them. In the future allow other people to explain themselves before taking action, okay?" Graham didn't put away the frying pans, though. For a moment Patta felt afraid of what could happen.

As if Graham had sensed that fear, the magic attacks changed. The fire disappeared, a large expanse of light blue magic taking its place, not even high enough to reach Patta's SOUL. It was just almost covering the muffin-like objects.

 ***MERCY – Spare**

A few panicked thoughts crossed Patta's mind. Maybe Graham had really gotten pissed off and was hiding it quite well! At any moment he was going to subdue them, oh god, they had screwed up real bad now. Graham was going to capture them, call the police and quite rightfully, may they add, get Patta locked away for a few days. That was definitely what was going to happen!

Patta felt their regrets crawling on their back.

But what Graham did was something they hadn't expected. Graham stopped in front of the fridge and opened it, taking out a plate with a few cupcakes.

Graham's good will shone in the area, all magic taking the shape it had been building towards. Patta's will to listen and Graham's attempt to make peace was solidified in a large green cupcake, intricately decorated. Feeling like it was something good, Patta slowly moved their SOUL towards it while Graham approached even closer.

As soon as the SOUL touched the cupcake Patta felt a strange calmness, like everything was safe. The cupcake disappeared and Patta's turn came.

Graham took one of the real cupcakes and passed it to Patta. "Let's sit and discuss this calmly, okay? That's better than fighting and risking anybody getting hurt. We're not foes, Patta...leave that weapon aside and let's solve this like civilized people" Patta took the cupcake, and Graham, showing just how much he meant the forgiveness and will to talk he had been expressing, left himself wide open to an attack.

 ***Graham is sparing you.**

Anybody in this situation could spring and hit Graham square in the chest. Even if a simple fist was used, that was something that would hurt a lot. Hitting such a vulnerable spot was an action Patta decidedly was not going to do.

 ***MERCY – Spare**

The FIGHT ended. Putting the tenderizer aside, Patta sighed. "Wow, that was really rude of me. Graham, I am very sorry for that. It's just that, well, these few hours have been..." they were looking for an excuse. How shameful that was "Nevermind. I really shouldn't have done something like this"

"I won't lie; I was scared for a moment. That thing you were wielding could easily lead to broken bones" Graham sat to the table "Maybe I'm stupid to think you wouldn't do something like that in most situations? I hope I'm not wrong"

"You aren't wrong; I had never done something like this before" Patta bit into the cupcake "This is something I'll be always ashamed of"

"I owed you an explanation, either way. Let me assure you neither Ciruel nor I plan to hurt you or Asriel in any way. It's just curiosity. Have you never wondered about monsters, about how they work and live?"

"Uh, I did once study in an undergraduate course on biology -"

"I don't mean it only in the biological sense" Graham waved his hand "Ciruel is from a family of scholars. They have studied monsters and their culture for generations, you know...or at least what's left of it here on the surface. He's surely the one who knows the most about monsters; it would be good to talk to him if you're interested" There was silence for a moment before he got the courage to ask: "So...is it okay if Ciruel meets Asriel?"

"I think-" Patta was interrupted again, this time by a noise coming from the kitchen door. Turning around, they saw Frisk, peeking from the doorstep. "Oh! Frisk, I'm sorry, I forgot. Tell Asriel you can come now"

Frisk didn't move, though. While their expression didn't change, there was something in their eyes that greatly unnerved Patta. It felt like they were judging Patta, like... "Oh god, they saw it all. They saw me fighting" Patta murmured to themselves, their astonishment making them not realize they were not saying that in their head.

Frisk stared at them for a minute or so before they returned to the lobby to bring Asriel. Feeling like their sins were being displayed for everybody to see, Patta stood up, trying to look as calm as possible before Asriel arrived.

However Graham repeated his question. "Well...I think I'll give some credit to Asriel and tell you something: it's better if you ask him directly. I personally would rather to take him as quick as possible to Mt. Ebott, but if he decides it's fine then I'll allow it. Talk to him"

"Thank you, Patta" Graham said just when Asriel arrived. "Hello, kids! Everything is ready for our cooking adventure. Let's give this snail pie recipe our best efforts!" he said quite cheerily, inviting Asriel to take the snail container.

Seeing Asriel eagerly gathering everything he remembered they'd need for the recipe Patta couldn't avoid feeling guilty about what they had just done.

But...after talking to Graham...Patta felt it was going to be necessary to tell Asriel about it. If they wanted to actually be Asriel's friend then they would need to be honest, start trusting him. It wasn't going to be easy, and to be completely honest they actually feared Asriel would be afraid of them. Frisk was being pretty unsubtle about their attempt to stand as far as possible from Patta, which convinced Patta they had seen the FIGHT happen.

The fight with Graham was another regret to the already large pile Patta had piled up during their life. However, as curious as it was...despite how bad it made them feel...for once they didn't feel like lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling in defeat. Instead they felt like they could actually overcome it.

It was hope. Real hope. They had something to look forward to in the future, even if it was a path littered with obstacles and potentially painful moments. Somehow, they finally had a goal to live for.


	11. Partial Reaffirmation of Existence

Graham once again checked the oven. "Yep, it's preheating. So, how is the recipe? What else do we need besides the snails?" All of them had gathered a few ingredients already, the most basic ones, but Graham had waited for Asriel to give them a few more specifications regarding ingredients. Who else better than him to know what went well with snails?

"I think we have everything we need but I'd like to try some new stuff" Asriel prodded the container of snails "I also think Mom added lots of sugar and a few leaves of something to the mix?"

"Um, question" Patta eyed the snails inside; wary of them "Do you mix them just like they are right now, shells and all?"

Anybody who was looking at the scene from the outside, seen Asriel's facial expression and hadn't heard Patta's question may have thought they had asked Asriel if he liked to decorate his home with the skin of his brethren, or something as brutal as that. After a moment he frantically shook his head, laughing awkwardly. "Golly, no! The meat is what counts, not the shell"

"Makes sense to me" Frisk opened the container and took one, examining it carefully.

"We need to take every snail and extract all the meat!" Asriel's tone had acquired a certainty that showed how much he knew about the matter. It seemed this was something he had done several times before, and imparting that knowledge to other people was very fulfilling "Emptying the shell can be difficult, but if you have the right tools it shouldn't be much of a problem"

Graham gave everybody a teaspoon, apologizing for not having anything smaller. "I suppose toothpicks can work of this is not good enough" he said, taking his own spoon and turning a snail around. His hands hesitated, not sure how this was supposed to go.

Asriel, noticing nobody besides him knew how to even start extracting the meat, took his teaspoon and decidedly inserted it between the shell and the tissue. "It's done like this! It's okay if the snail crumbles, that is fine"

"Okay. Let me try something..." Frisk took the snail and started to hit the shell against the edge of the table, as if they were trying to crack open an egg. That was effective enough in the sense it at least did break the shell. Unfortunately this also meant the snail spilled all over the edge of the table and the floor, most of it unusable. "Oh"

Thankfully there weren't more problems. Everybody took a handful of snails and started working on them, leaving the right content on a separate bowl. "I know almost eighty different snail facts" Asriel said with great pride, scraping the inside of a shell with a claw "Did you know snails have a chainsaw-like tongue called a radula?"

"Do they?" Graham smiled, indulgent, while Patta subtly tried to make a snail open its mouth to check "I didn't know that"

"Yeah! I read it in one of Mom's favorite books. She and Dad spend a lot of time teaching me anything they can, it is fun, butt would be nicer if I had somebody to learn everything with"

"Homeschooled and without siblings, eh?"

"...yes" he said, a bit downcast. Asriel liked his home, his parents and his life, but he longed for somebody to share his time with. There were so many little things in his life that could be more fun and enjoyable if he had a close friend or a sibling he could help, or teach, or play with. And while he did have friends back at home, friends he liked and greatly esteemed, sometimes he felt there was something lacking in his life.

Patta understood that feeling pretty well, even if Asriel hadn't expressed it aloud. Asriel's eyes said without words all that was going through his mind. In an effort to distract Asriel from delving too deep into what he felt his life was missing Patta took the bowl with the snail meat. "I think we have enough already. What do you think, Asriel?"

"We do!" Asriel took the bowl and added the rest of the ingredients they had all gathered for the pie. In a sudden wish to experiment, Asriel and Frisk had convinced Graham to give them some chocolate and nuts to try to create a new recipe with the snails. Graham's awkward smile showed he wasn't feeling very sure of how well the goopy mix would work, but he at least was willing to give Asriel and Frisk's new recipe a try.

While Frisk tried to whisk the goop Asriel got the pie crust ready to receive the mixture, all under Patta's supervision. "Do you know how to cook, Patta?" Graham asked while Patta was indicating Asriel how to make the crust fit the pan.

"Kinda. It's one of those things you have to learn when there's no one else to do it for you" Judging by Patta's carefully neutral expression it seemed they were extremely reticent to even thinking about themselves. Graham decided it would be better to avoid touching that topic again.

An hour and half later, the pie was ready and cooled down already. Knowing it was mainly made with snails made Patta be greatly wary of it. Nobody shared his apprehension, though. Graham patiently touched it with a fork to test its consistence again, Asriel was staring at the pie as if it was the most wonderful thing he had seen in his life and Frisk shared his excitement. "Can we try it now?" Frisk asked, already holding a plate in anticipation.

"We can" Graham declared, taking the knife. The pie was cut, the three of them taking a slice "Are you sure you don't want a slice, Patta?"

"I still think humans weren't made to eat snails" Patta declared but they didn't make any effort to leave the table. Graham interpreted that as they wanting to actually join them in the tasting, but he wasn't going to force them.

"This looks great!" Asriel almost immediately took a bite of the pie, savoring it with enviable enjoyment. "It tastes so good! Frisk, you have to try it. It's the best pie I have ever eaten in my life!"

"Really?" Frisk took a bite too and somehow managed to keep their usual inexpressive face while tasting it. Asriel waited, holding his breath with thrill, until Frisk swallowed and was ready to give their judgment. "It's very good. I like it!"

"Yes!" Knowing Frisk approved the pie and the recipe they had created with Asriel was all Asriel needed to hear. Beaming with joy Asriel kept cramming the pie in his jaw.

Graham felt encouraged to give it a try once and for all. He took his spoon and put a piece of snail pie in his mouth. He chewed and smiled awkwardly in a way Patta knew meant 'I just made a terrible decision and I regret it'. Graham put the spoon aside, swallowed and as diplomatically as he could he took his slice of pie. "Asriel, you're in a growing phase so you need to eat well. Please, accept this second slice"

Asriel didn't protest, not even noticing Graham wasn't exactly waxing poetry about the deliciousness of the pie. Frisk noticed, though. "Didn't you like it?"

"I did, Frisk, it's just I'm full from this morning's breakfast. Please, excuse me" Graham stood up, going to wash the cooking implements used to make the pie. Patta, with an insufferably smug smirk, approached him once he was near the sink and far enough for the kids to not to hear them.

"Was it really that bad? It's the snails, isn't it?" Seriously, snails with chocolate sounded like a revolting combination. They had no idea how Frisk could stomach the pie. Graham shrugged in a noncommittal way.

"There's nothing wrong with the pie. It tastes like very sweet veal, with chocolate and all that. The problem is that I hate veal"

"Oh" So Graham hadn't rejected the pie because it was inherently bad, it was more due to his personal tastes. Patta glanced at the kids, still at the table and rhapsodizing about how good the pie was. Three different people had given it a try and said it wasn't as bad as it could be, so...maybe they could actually give it a try?

Taking a deep breath to prepare themselves and try to leave aside their disgust at the concept of eating snails, Patta sat back at the table. "Alright, I'll take a slice" they announced, hoping they wouldn't greatly regret it. The look of surprise in Asriel's face and Frisk's skeptical raised eyebrows made them have second thoughts but they pressed forward, wanting to get done with this as soon as possible.

One bite should be enough to determine if it was going to be good. They could do it! Asriel, once the surprise of Patta's statement was gone, smiled and put a slice of pie on Patta's plate. He didn't continue eating his portions, though, instead staring at Patta and waiting to see their reaction.

A bit nervous from being watched, Patta took a piece, held his breath and finally ate the bite. They were surprised to notice Graham had been right. Snails didn't taste weird or even exotic, it was certainly close to beef or veal, and while the chocolate Asriel and Frisk had added didn't mesh very well at least the nuts were nice. Patta nodded and took another bite. "This is much better than I thought it would be!" they informed.

And so Patta, Asriel and Frisk bonded by sharing a snail pie until there was nothing left.

-ooooo-

Being asleep for only a couple hours isn't the sort of thing that helps one to be perfectly awake during the day. Not too long after the three of them finished the snail pie, Patta had to excuse themselves to go take a nap or something. Graham, Asriel and Frisk had stayed in the kitchen, as Graham had offered to cook for them his specialty.

"How can you two still be hungry?" Patta had asked in disbelief. A big breakfast and a pie later and the kids felt like eating more stuff? It was amazing. Saying they needed to go sleep, Patta left the kitchen...but now that Graham and Asriel were going to be alone Patta felt Graham would take the chance to ask Asriel about meeting Ciruel. Wanting to hear what Asriel would say Patta instead brought a chair to the entrance of the kitchen, managing to stay out of sight, and sat there to wait to hear it.

Sitting and trying to fight the sleep that tried to overcome him wasn't easy at all, but Patta tried to hold on. Their efforts went unrewarded for quite a while, though.

"...pie was monster food, so now we'll prepare a sample of what I consider the best human food you'll ever find" Graham had said.

"Monster food is made of magic" Asriel had informed, and Patta couldn't avoid a snort. Of course magic would be involved. They didn't know much about monsters, but they had noticed a lot of things in the Underground revolved around magic. Asriel used that word several times when he talked about his world and life.

"Magic food? How does that work?" that sounded like Frisk's voice.

"How do I explain it...it's just food! You eat it and receive its effects almost instantly. Monster food is said to heal almost anything, especially when it's related to the SOUL"

"Do you think we could make this food partially magic or something?" Graham asked. Patta couldn't see but surely the perspective of creating food with magic properties had Graham almost beside himself. Asriel conceded it was worth a try.

Patta dozed off intermittently, feeling the strain on their back. At this rate they'd be knocked out and when those three were done with whatever they were preparing they'd find Patta on the floor, snoring away. In his bouts of consciousness they heard Graham telling Asriel it wouldn't be a good idea for him to knead the dough because he could shed fur onto it, Frisk offering to do it, and Graham announcing the Apple Bombs would be ready soon.

After a particularly short moment of respite Patta woke up and heard a more serious conversation. "...been so good with us, Graham. Thank you" It seemed like Asriel was thanking Graham for everything he had done for them. This was the moment, surely by now the innkeeper was going to ask Asriel if he'd be willing to meet Ciruel.

The question didn't come, though. Instead Graham chuckled. "You're welcome, Asriel. I'm glad you and Patta stayed around. Besides this is the right thing to do"

There was a pause. "I...I don't know if it's right of me to say this but...Patta doesn't trust you" Oh. Asriel had revealed to Graham that. It wasn't anything Graham didn't know by now, but it made Patta be completely awake. This could lead to Graham telling Asriel Patta had attacked him, and that was something Patta wanted to tell by themselves.

"They told me that already" Graham replied. Patta let out a sigh of relief, it seemed Graham was going to let it at that "It's fine. I won't stop treating you or them like you deserve to be treated: with kindness"

"Graham is a nice person" Frisk said "He even offered Celia and me a home, but..." Frisk didn't really understand all the problems Graham encountered when he attempted to give Celia a home.

"I tried my best but there are some people who don't want anybody protecting Celia. I don't know much, but it seems those people are relatives of her. That makes it even worse. It's despicable, if you ask me" The anger in Graham's voice was obvious. So that was the reason why Celia was still living in that abandoned house, there were relatives of her obstructing any attempt to give Celia a home. Why were they doing that? How could they even do that? It was unnecessarily cruel. Asriel agreed with indignation that was a heartless thing to do, but Graham said there was nothing they could do.

"Since their son Umi disappeared they changed for the worse, and they were already bad before that" Graham continued "And their daughter is too loyal to them to dare to contradict them. It's an ugly matter" there was a bang coming from the kitchen. Graham had abruptly left something like a pot on the counter. He sighed and declared in a way that showcased how much resentment and bitterness he felt:

"Humans are the worst beings to ever exist"

That was one severe opinion! But after hearing a sample of how cruel humans could be it was understandable why he thought that, besides, it was no secret for anybody over the surface there were a lot of cruel humans. Patta knew that but held onto their belief about humans being generally good.

Asriel muttered something that sounded like 'Not all humans are bad...', which Frisk agreed with, although with some hesitation.

"Maybe someday that will be true. That is why I try my best to treat people nicely, because maybe if I do there will be humans who will change their ways. I try to teach children to be nice, too, but I don't think many people realize what's truly needed to be good:

To be kind you need to _trust_.

If you trust, you can look at other people and see them as peers. Trust is the base of everything, in my opinion. But it's not easy to trust, especially in a world like this one. Asriel, Frisk, never lost that tenderness in your hearts that let you believe people can be good. Once you lose it you can't ever recover it-"

Patta couldn't bear to hear anything else. The guilt had once again returned, so in an attempt to run away from that they went upstairs to the room. As soon as they arrived they tried to think of anything else, but now they understood why Graham hadn't been angry with them after the attack, just merely disappointed.

It was likely Graham had already expected the worst from Patta from the moment he had met them, and surely by now he thought he had done well on expecting that! In an effort to stop thinking that, Patta laid on their bed. Thankfully they were so tired sleeping was an option, so at least they could stop hearing Graham's words over and over in their mind.

They were awoken by a knock on the door. Patta, sighing in exhaustion at being once again awoken, Patta went to open it. Asriel was on the other side, holding something in his hands. It seemed to be some sort of baked good. "Hi, Patta! I hope I didn't wake you up"

Patta groaned and rubbed their eyes, but didn't shoo Asriel away. "It's fine. In fact, now that you are here, I have something to tell you" Patta opened the door wider, inviting Asriel to enter. The monster child sat on the bed, waiting for Patta to start talking.

The sooner they got done with this the better. They were afraid of thinking excuses to not to talk, so instead they started right there and now. "Asriel, I have to confess something that happened a couple hours ago. I'm not proud of what I'll tell you, but if I'm going to be responsible of you while you're up here the least I can do is trust you"

At the start it was difficult to look at Asriel to the eyes but they resisted for a while. As soon as they said they had grabbed the meat tenderizer they couldn't resist it anymore, they looked away to the wall, not wanting to see Asriel's possibly betrayed or scared expression, the feeling of knowing the person in front of you could be dangerous. Patta made sure to mention the reason why they had thought Graham was doing something wrong, but clarified Graham hadn't tried to betray them in any way.

"I have no excuses for what I did. I was stupid and left myself be led away by feelings I shouldn't have let take over me, and although Graham has forgiven me it doesn't mean I can pretend it never happened.

That's why I'm telling you, because...I want to leave it behind, and because I want to trust you, to feel...like I can...like I can find peace, even if it is for a moment. I-I'm sorry for that" they closed their eyes, wincing, and slowly turned their head so, when they opened their eyes, they would see Asriel.

Taking a deep breath, they finally opened their eyes. Asriel was still there, he hadn't run away, but he was staring at the baked sphere in his hands. The two of them stayed in silence for a moment, until the goat kid finally talked. "...Graham doesn't seem angry. He's saying a lot of nice things about you"

That made Patta smile. "Yeah, he's nice like that"

"If he isn't angry with you I don't see why I should. I didn't think you would be so angry as to attack somebody..." Asriel raised his head. There it was, that certainly was disappointment. Patta tried their best to not to recoil, that gaze brought back memories of a moment where their life turned towards the worse, one moment they had grown to consider the greatest regret they had. They waited for the gaze to turn from disappointment into rage, like it had happened many years ago.

Fortunately what Patta expected didn't happen. Instead, Asriel closed his eyes and smiled. "But it's okay. I haven't known you for long but I do know you aren't a bad person, and that's what counts. Don't let this bring you down. I'm not very good at cheering people up, but I want you to know you can count on me to support you. I won't be scared of you or anything like that.

We're friends, aren't we?"

The feeling of relief Patta felt when Asriel reassured them was almost indescribable. They felt like a vice griping their chest had just vanished, and they could finally breathe with ease. They were so happy their eyes watered.

They felt kind of embarrassed, too, looking so vulnerable towards Asriel. Asriel wasn't an idiot, though; he could see his reassurance had brought some conflicting emotions in Patta. It didn't take him long to connect the dots. Patta's refusal to look at him, the cringing, the obvious reticence, there was one conclusion he could reach from that. "Were you scared of what I'd think?"

"I was more scared of what you would do" they blurted before they could realize it. Somehow, seeing Asriel hadn't done what Patta had expected them to do, it made Patta want to talk. Better to take advantage of the chance to let go some of the feelings they had kept bottled in their heart. "There was this one time where I was in a different situation, when I was still living with my parents. I was seventeen years old, and I had decided I wanted to study biology. That didn't, um, make my parents very happy, for some reason...but I didn't accept their demands I studied something else. They...didn't like that and...well, I had to leave the house to go live alone and study. They declared there would be no support from them at all, from now on, I'd be all by myself. All they did was leave me a house in the town and went away"

"How did the studies go?"

"Eh, those went well...until I ran out of money. I had to quit and my family refused to help me any further" There, the vice was back again, pressing onto their chest.

"I see..." Asriel wasn't sure what to say, he felt this was something Patta needed to deal with, let off some steam via talking. Patta wasn't willing to go into further explanation as to what exactly had happened, in fact they had talked in very simplified terms, leaving most of the details out.

"I have to be honest with you, Asriel, you have been pretty much the only person I have spent time with for quite some time. I have kept everyone, neighbors, coworkers, people I meet, like, at an arm's distance, but due to your situation I had to get used to your presence. You have been a great support to me during these two days, and I think I didn't want to let it be ruined because of a mistake I did. I was scared it was all going to be ruined because of my actions "

To be frank, Patta felt they were being immature, like they should have let it go several years ago, but it was difficult when that kind of moments were what had led to their present gloomy outlook of the world and the future. Many times they had wished to change their past.

But now there was a possible future! Patta felt they had the courage to continue fighting. After Asriel returned home, Patta would try their hardest to create a new future, one that didn't have them just withering away in their house, away of everyone. They could do it! They. They?

...

...he?

...

...no, they. A person is defined by all the experiences they have lived through in the past and all the possible moments they will live in the future. Patta had accepted the possibility of a future, but as long as they didn't accept the past and leave it behind they couldn't accept themselves as a person with a real identity. That's what they thought.

* * *

 _I can't let the past go. That is the big problem I have, the one thing I couldn't overcome. I don't know if I ever will._

* * *

But at least now they knew they trusted Asriel unconditionally.

"You're a good kid, Asriel. You have a way to influence people and make them feel like they are valuable, like there's a reason to continue living on" Patta stood up. Their back was straighter, and their voice had acquired a cheerful note they hadn't used in quite some time "You'll be a great king one day!"

"Aw, shucks! Thank you, Patta" Asriel handed them the baked food he had brought for them "This is an Apple Bomb, we just made it. It even has some magical properties!"

"Really?" The Apple Bomb didn't seem different to normal food. It seemed to be a shell made of some crunchy food, encompassing a core of cream and apple. This definitely wasn't what some would think magic food was like "Thank you!"

"By the way, Graham asked if I could meet a friend of his. Do you mind that?"

"I'll leave it up to you. If you feel like it's the right thing to do then I'm willing to stand aside and let it happen"

"I want to meet Ciruel" Asriel nodded with resoluteness.

"Then that's what will happen" Patta smiled and suppressed a yawn "I feel sleepy so I'd like to continue my nap. Thank you for this bit of food"

"It's nothing. I'll be downstairs. See you later, Patta!" And with that, Asriel left the room, closing the room behind him. Patta sat back on the bed, eyeing the shell of the Apple Bomb, and gave it a bite.

It tasted like glory.

* * *

 **Tags were modified due to the recent events: Neutral Gender Protagonist OC - Formerly Neutral Gender Protagonist OC**


	12. Green SOUL

Patta slept until the afternoon. They couldn't believe how well rested they felt. It was one of those rare moments when one felt in peace, physically and mentally. The descended to the lobby, noticing Graham was once again sitting behind his desk. "Hey" they greeted.

"Hi there, Patta. You look different" Graham looked at them with interest "Okay, that's a lie because you look the same, but there's something different about you"

"I feel different, that is all. Has anything happened while I was asleep?"

"Annie arrived. She's with Asriel and Frisk in the parlor and requested me to not to bother them. Maybe they'll allow you to check on them" he pointed in direction to the parlor.

* * *

 _Graham, a kind man who only wants people to be okay. From giving temporal shelter to a monster, to trying to help a friend to reach their dream, he is a good person who wants to help._

 _I suppose that's the reason why, until Frisk fell Underground, Graham was the one who survived the longest. He avoided fighting, trying his best to appease any monster he encountered, and he was actually pretty damn good at that!_

 _He wasn't the type to accept a situation without wanting something better, either. While he was thankful Toriel offered him a home, he wanted to return to the surface. Toriel wasn't happy at the idea, which is to be expected after seeing three children go through the door just to die. Graham understood her fear, but he was sure he would manage to survive! "I have to go, Toriel!" Graham had exclaimed "It won't be easy, but I'm sure monsters aren't bad people. I'm sure we can get along"_

 _Toriel warned him about Asgore, though, and remarked he had killed three children already. Graham wasn't scared of that, though, and although he never said it to Toriel's face, he did say to other monsters he met later that he planned to talk to Asgore._

 _He had a curious philosophy, too: friends are made through sharing food. He was convinced the way to get along with monsters was through their stomachs, which made Toriel chuckle and support wholeheartedly. They spent hours preparing a lot of food; so much Graham almost couldn't lift the backpack he took with him. But it was a sound strategy._

 _Graham avoided attacking, instead preferring to talk and try to reach a mutual understanding. Then, after that, he would usually give them some food, and everything will be okay. He managed to make many friends, get along with many type of monsters and overall he grew to be accepted by a lot of people! He would have been very happy underground._

 _At some point he did realize that. His objective changed from asking Asgore to let him out of the Underground, to ask Asgore for help to establish himself somewhere in the Underground in exchange of his SOUL when he died of natural death someday. Graham wanted to be a famous chef for the Underground, and he was convinced with Asgore's help he'd be successful. From what I know about Asgore I'm sure he would have accepted that and helped in any way he could._

 _..._

 _...it's a shame he never reached New Home. Even if Graham was a nice child that didn't mean the Royal Guard wouldn't try to stop him and take his soul, or some stray monsters would accidentally engage in FIGHTs with him._

 _It was shortly after he encountered another member of the Royal Guard. Graham had already reached Hotland, grasping the frying pan but without using it to attack anybody. He convinced the foe to stop attacking him, and gave him the last piece of the food he had brought. Another friend was made!_

 _However the encounter had been taxing for him. He hadn't managed to protect himself against all the magical attacks, and for that reason he had lost almost all of his HP. Knowing he needed to heal himself, he decided to return to the closest place where he could find some type of healing item. And it was during that path he encountered the monster that would be his doom._

 _It was the first time he saw a Vulkin. By now he was more than used to the different species of monsters, so it wasn't that much of a surprise. That didn't mean he was off-guard. He raised the frying pan, ready for the attacks that could come. "Ah, ah!" the Vulkin said. "You are hurt!"_

 _"_ _...kinda" Graham replied. Vulkin frowned._

 _"_ _I can help!"_

 _That was all Graham wanted to hear. He put his frying pan aside, relieved. "Thank you, thank you so much" He had nothing to fear, after all. The Vulkin was sweet and Graham could see it wouldn't hurt a fly. Why not to trust him? That's what being kind was all about, it was all based on trust. And that's how he had managed to make friends with so many monsters, because he had trusted them, and they returned his trust._

 _So he left himself wide open. He trusted Vulkin to heal him, and Vulkin was willing to do it. It waddled closer, happy to help. "Yep, yep. Healing magmas!" There wasn't enough time for Graham to block the magical attack; Vulkin was way too close for that._

 _Needless to say, after the ordeal there was one heavily traumatized Vulkin._

 _Graham hadn't done anything wrong. His only fault was that he trusted too much, and it wasn't like that truth was wrongly placed. It was nobody's fault Vulkin had such a misconception about its own lava._

 _All the monsters who had befriended Graham mourned his death, but in a way they were more grateful than ever. Thanks to his SOUL, they were all one step closer to freedom. They figured that's what Graham would have wanted, and while they weren't wrong, he would have preferred to continue living._

 _The news of Graham's death also made Toriel determined to not to let any other child to go out. Four children had perished, and that is why Ananas had to sneak out instead of simply being asked to be let outside._

 _Poor Graham, it was all a terrible misunderstanding, but at least he was proven right, and Frisk soon would make it be even clearer: a bit of kindness does help._

 _That's why in so many timelines monsters manage to have peaceful lives in the surface, because a lot of people like monsters and want them to be around, or have been treated well by monsters, and are grateful for that. A lot of people would consider that a happy ending, wouldn't it? But it isn't enough. It can't be enough._

 _Frisk and I know that._

 _Sometimes he resets the timeline and all I do is watch if they can make any progress on achieving a better ending. Sometimes I take the timeline and create a new one from scratch, changing details and trying to see if modifying the events would lead to a better future._

 _And sometimes...sometimes it's somebody else who manages to change everything. By that I mean it's Flowey or Chara the one to reset, but that almost never happens now. At the beginning it was very often and out of my control, but recently they haven't really intervened._

 _Either way, it doesn't really matter. We made a promise, and for that reason I'm going to follow it to the very end._

 _It's for everybody. I won't be able to be there myself, but that doesn't matter, does it? I promised it, and I don't break a promise._

 _We'll create the best future._

* * *

"She is?" They looked at the clock. It was a little past 4 PM, they had slept for quite a while.

"Remember they are in the lounge. I'll be here, if you need me"

Patta nodded and prepared to step towards the parlor, but before they could move a knock sounded on the door. They froze, looking at it, and it seemed Graham hadn't expected anybody to be here, either. "I'll deal with that"

"Were you expecting anybody to come?"

Graham walked to the front door to peek through the window and see who it was. "Ciruel is coming tomorrow, not today. It may be a potential client, looking for a room" he pulled away the curtain and took a look outside. "Oh dear"

"What?"

"Right, act natural, Patta. I'm going to open the door, but as long as you don't act suspicious there's nothing to be worried about"

That sounded very ominous. Dozens of potential bad scenarios crossed Patta's mind, but they stayed calm. "Is it the police or something?"

"It'd be better if it was the police. They would have to follow protocols and all that stuff, but these guys aren't like them. _He_ wouldn't be here unless he suspected there was something noteworthy going on in this inn"

"What's going on? Who is outside?"

Graham grasped the doorknob, ready to open the door, and answered in a way that made it sound much more dramatic than it should have been:

"Teenagers. It's the Youth Troop"


	13. Because the Future Can Be Different

Ananas took one of the pillows on the couch, twirling it in her hands. She had left aside her fake accent, trying her best to sound as serious as possible because so far this hadn't gone like she had planned it. "Picture this, Asriel. You are walking with Patta and Frisk, when you accidentally get separated from them for reasons I won't bother to explain. What will you do?"

"Um, call for help?"

"Suppose there's no way to contact them. You're all alone, a lone ranger in the town, surrounded by nobody but humans you don't know"

The session to convince Asriel of the importance of fighting was not going very well. Ananas was trying her best to give Asriel some scenarios so the goat child would get the will to fight if it was needed, but so far, no matter what she said, Asriel always said some kind of pacifist option that would involve anything except fighting.

Frisk was sitting aside, watching with great interest and nodding every time Asriel replied to Ananas. They approved all of Asriel's solutions. After a particularly convoluted attempt, they had decided to intervene. "Fighting isn't always the solution. There's nothing wrong with being as peaceful as he wants to be"

"You don't understand it, Frisk. Asriel is in danger because he is a monster, and as much as I hate to admit it, he can't rely on his kindness all the time. There are some people who won't accept it"

Frisk hadn't known how to reply to that. They understood fighting was necessary at some point, but they believed on taking it as the very, very last resort. In that sense Asriel and they were kindred spirits, and that was something Asriel liked of them.

Asriel mulled Ananas' new scenario. "I'm alone, people are around me...I'd return to the last place I was in with Patta or Frisk. They could try to find me there"

"...okay, that is sensible, I'll concede that" Ananas shrugged "Fine. You are returning, and manage to arrive there. Then, suddenly, that knitted beanie you have falls down, showing your floppy ears and fluffy fur, shining in the light of the blazing sun of the desert. People scream and run, but an especially brave human remains behind and tries to attack you"

"I try to talk to them!"

"T-Th-They-They are mute and deaf! Too bad, Asriel. They continue attacking, you can't run away, you can't convince them to not to attack you, it's certain doom unless you fight. Will you do it?"

Asriel sighed, resigned. He really didn't want to attack somebody, even if it meant saving his own life. He wasn't stupid, though. There was no way to run away, no other way for him to escape alive and get to somewhere safe, so... "...yes. I would...use my fire magic to scare them without actually hurting them"

"Scare them? Okay, that is progress. It can work! Well done, Asriel" Ananas smiled in approval "Nice thinking. However, there are some people who would go even further than that, not even your fire magic would deter them. Then what would you do?"

"I don't want to fight, Annie!" Asriel shouted, starting to get fed up with all this. It didn't mean he didn't understand why Ananas was doing this; it's just that the last thing he wanted was to be responsible for the death of somebody. He wasn't bad at all with his fire magic, but he had no idea how much damage he'd do to a human. The thought of causing a death made him freeze in panic.

Ananas stared at him for a moment before tossing the pillow in an arch, it falling on Asriel's head with a *paf*. "Bang. You're dead. A person who wants to hurt you won't stand around waiting for you to do something" she sighed, sitting on the couch. Asriel was too gentle for his own good, in her opinion "Look, I understand how you feel, but come on. You can't be a fuzzy pushover in a situation like this. Isn't there a situation where you'd feel encouraged to fight?"

"...if I'm about to die, I suppose" and maybe not even in a situation like that. He had already been in a near-death situation with Celia and he had done nothing.

Ananas shook her head. "Squirt, I'm worried about you. As I see it you're as good as dead. You'll never survive up here. The thought of you dying and not even attempting to defend yourself is..." she stopped for a moment to take a deep breath "I'm sure you have enough control over your powers to not to kill anybody" Asriel didn't reply to that.

"So you're afraid about hurting somebody" Frisk said. It made sense, how many magical attacks can a human withstand? They couldn't expect Asriel to know.

"So it's that. Don't be afraid, squirt, I'm much stronger than you think"

"You only have 28 HP" From what he could see, humans tended to have low amounts of HP, especially if they hadn't earned any LOVE. Patta had an abnormally low HP, twelve in the last time he had checked, even lower than Asriel's. Celia was more resistant, she had 42 HP, and Graham had 60 HP. It could have sounded like a lot, if it weren't because it was common for monsters to have hundreds of HP.

Asgore, for example. His HP reached several thousand high. The weakest Froggit the monster prince had met had around 30 HP. Asriel only had 20 HP, but that was normal. He was just a child, after all. It was expected his stats would skyrocket in the near future.

Compared to monsters, it seemed to him humans were horribly fragile. As he saw it, a serious magical attack could lead to a disaster.

Ananas had no idea if 28 HP was really so bad. "So what? You can control your own power. I'm sure that, if you tried, you could do minimal damage. Many attackers will run away as soon as they see you can defend yourself"

"You can do it, Asriel" Frisk smiled encouragingly. It took him a moment to gather his courage to at least give it a try. Soon Ananas and Asriel were once again standing on opposite sides of the parlor, ready for their duel.

"Okay, let's get this going. Same situation than before, you have a foe you can't reason with. The foe is going to attack in a couple seconds, so do your move!" she shouted, taking a couch pillow again.

This time Asriel decided to take this more seriously: be as intimidating as possible, attack with as little power as he could, and as soon as the foe got too weak to fight, he'd stop. There were Apple Bombs in the kitchen; he could give her one if the damage to her SOUL was too much. "I'm ready"

"Then prepare a magical attack!" she ordered. He nodded and obeyed, focusing on his magic. Asriel's hands were enveloped in fire. That was enough to start a FIGHT. Her yellow SOUL floated in front of her chest, but she made no movement with it. It seemed like it was going to be a one-sided fight on his favor.

Ananas let out a gasp, impressed, that looked actually quite dangerous! "Nice. Are you going to try to scratch me?"

"Um, I'm better with ranged attacks" a few embers formed in his hands, ready to be flung at the target, but before he could have done it he hesitated. One single ember was fired through the air...at snail pace.

Ananas pursed her lips in disapproval while the flame crossed the space slowly. Once it was close enough, she merely swatted it aside with the pillow. "Okay, baby steps, I suppose. That's a start. Let's try to make it faster than this, okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm nervous!" unconsciously he had slowed down the fire, part of him still holding onto his intense fear of hurting, but now that he was conscious of what he had done, he felt ready to ramp up his attack a little. Just to test, he threw one single ember again, but this time at the correct speed.

Before Ananas could defend herself, that ember hit her SOUL. She didn't even flinch, taking the blow stoically. Asriel let out a gasp, the fire on his claws extinguishing. "Are you okay?" he tried to see any sign of damage, but it seemed he hadn't caused not even a single point of damage. Either her DEF had increased dramatically at some point or...or he had been so focused on not hurting her his ATK was far into the negative numbers. Ananas rubbed her chest, confused.

"Funny, I thought I'd feel something when that hit me" Maybe she was right. Maybe humans really were stronger than Asriel had thought. Finally, starting to relax, he didn't need Ananas to prompt him to prepare himself again. He once again got a magical attack ready. "Can you throw more than one at the time?"

After a while, Asriel was attacking just like he usually did when he trained by himself. Lines of fire soared through the air, hitting the walls and the furniture without leaving any marks. He actually had good aim, but Ananas proved to be nimble despite her size and age, dodging every barrage with expertise. Frisk had taken refuge in a corner of the parlor, watching with amazement. Asriel could be tough when he wanted!

"You need to be faster than this, squirt! You won't hit anybody if you're so slow" she said after throwing herself on the floor to avoid the floating embers. Lately Asriel had started to direct the fire in patterns, which impressed her greatly.

Asriel didn't reply to that, focused on keeping his attacks incoming. Ananas wasn't going to be satisfied until he managed to hit her at least once, that was obvious by now. She rolled to a side; he calculated she'd try to stand up. He aimed at the spot where he thought she'd be, but she saw through his plan. The fire once again grazed her, as she had stopped just in time to dodge it. "If you can't hit a moving target you're as good as done, squirt!"

"You can do it, Asriel!" Frisk cheered from the corner. Fire covered the spot where Ananas had been standing on just a moment ago; she stood up and sprinted to a side of the parlor. Asriel could see she was starting to be tired. That...was an option he hadn't considered. Keep foes on their toes, tire them out until they can't fight anymore. That could work!

"You seem tired" Asriel said, as he hadn't really moved, he felt he could continue for a long while. She shook her head, though, and took the chance to throw a pillow at him. That wasn't what he had expected. He stepped aside, the pillow hitting the wall.

"You can't let your guard down. If somebody truly wants to attack you, they'll do it until they have no energy at all. Stopping is not an option!"

Asriel didn't need to be told that twice. Before Ananas even finished the sentence, he had fired another attack again, but this time it was just to make her believe everything would continue like it had been until now. She already had seen all of his fire magic, now he'd try something else, magic he hadn't fully mastered but had tried to create for himself. It was weak, and surely wouldn't do meaningful damage, but it was worth a try.

Ananas couldn't believe what she was seeing when she saw a star crossing the air towards her. She stepped back, thinking it was going to be the same than the fire she had already grown accustomed to, but instead the star exploded. A dozen of tiny stars dispersed from where the big one had once been, firing in all directions. Caught off guard, Ananas didn't move in time. One of those stars hit here, and she felt a jolt somewhere inside her, a weird sensation she couldn't identify. Asriel could see it, though. He had managed to actually hit her.

A quick glance indicated there had been three points worth of damage. Stunned at how he had actually managed to hurt her, even if it wasn't much, Asriel stopped for a moment, but Ananas recovered quickly. It seemed like she was going to try to tackle him, so he did what he thought she'd have wanted: not let his guard down.

Ananas was disoriented after getting hit, that's why the next fire attack reached its target. The strange ache she felt increased slightly, and that convinced her to stop. Magic was something she couldn't understand. There was no visible damage on her body, but she could _feel_ continuing could lead to trouble. She raised her hands, surrendering and hoping Asriel, despite his newfound will to actually defend himself, had enough presence of mind to recognize when the opponent couldn't continue.

He did. Asriel may have agreed to actually fight with her, but that didn't mean he had lost control of himself. He had kept an eye on her status, ready to stop whenever she showed signs of being unable to continue. As soon as she surrendered, he dispelled his magic. The FIGHT was over; both sides had spared each other.

Ananas sat on the floor, taking deep breaths, while Asriel and Frisk approached. "Are you okay?" Frisk asked, their face showing actual worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Frisk. As I said, humans are tougher than you think. This all wasn't what I expected" she stood up, trembling a bit "...yes; now I'm sure I'm fine. You are tougher than I thought, Asriel. That was...impressive" Asriel found out she had taken five points of damage in total, and the reason why she seemed to be so affected may have been because she hadn't ever experienced this kind of damage. She didn't even seem to know about the qualities of the color of her SOUL!

Feeling it was his responsibility to make sure she was okay again, Asriel decided to take the matter in his own hands "Wait here a moment!" he said and without waiting for a reply he ran towards the kitchen. He could hear Graham and Patta talking in the lobby, but he didn't pay much attention to that. In the fridge he found a few Apple Bombs.

When he returned to the parlor, Ananas was already walking around as if nothing had happened. "Here" he gave one to Ananas, at least this would confirm if they had managed to give this food some sort of magic quality. She bit into the shell of the baked food, giving compliments about the taste, and much to the monster child's relief, he noticed her HP was fully restored.

In a way, he felt proud of himself. He had managed to demonstrate he wasn't a pushover, and although he still felt reticent about the matter of having to defend himself using magic, his fears of accidentally causing a death were partially assuaged. He definitely would try to avoid fighting, but if there was no more option at least now he knew he would actually defend himself.

Ananas had triumphed. She acknowledged he was capable of surviving, but instructed Asriel to always be with Frisk and Patta. Frisk promised they would protect Asriel, that's what friends were for, after all!

"That settles it. Tomorrow I could take you, Patta and Frisk to Mt. Ebott" she declared.

"We can't, we have something to do tomorrow" Asriel replied and Frisk nodded, confirming those words. Ananas wondered for a moment if she should ask what they were planning to do, but decided to leave this up to the monster's best judgment.

"That's too bad. I have to work, Asriel, today and tomorrow were pretty much the last chances you had for me to take you back home. I don't know when I'll be back in town. Are you sure you all will be okay?"

"We will!"

Seeing Asriel ready to continue the journey made Ananas be sure this had been worth it, she had done the right thing by coming and making Asriel learn it was okay to fight. She walked towards the door of the parlor, but she didn't exit. She was mulling something that had been festering in her mind for a while already, and in a bout of sincerity, Ananas decided to confess. It was the least she could do, wasn't it? After all...

...she hadn't been as good of a person as Asriel or Patta may have thought. Ananas turned around. The seriousness in her expression told Asriel and Frisk they needed to listen without interrupting her, otherwise, she may regret even starting:

"I'm glad I met you. Somehow, you have made me think about some things..." she took off her hat, what she was going to confess ashamed her. "You know, once I left you and Patta there on the street I thought I was done with you two. I considered my mistake in the airport had been atoned for and there was nothing else I needed to do, that is why I didn't answer the phone yesterday. I thought that was justice, action and reaction, why did I need to do anything else now?

But this morning, when I heard the rumors about monsters...I realized I made a big mistake. If I had acted because it was right then I would have taken you two directly to the mountain yesterday, but I didn't! I left you two there on the streets and tried to forget you two existed, and now because of my irresponsibility the rumors started.

...look, what I'm trying to say is that I'm starting to see my way of treating people was more like a game of favors. 'Hey, you did this for me, I'll now do something for you and we're even'. 'Oh, my bad, let me help you with this and we're even'. That is not how it should be and I'm starting to see it clearly.

I'm really glad I met you and...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I can't promise I will be able to come, but if you ever want to talk feel free to call me. I'll answer the phone anytime" That was all Ananas had to say about the matter. She nodded, put on her hat and turned back to the door to the parlor, ready to go. "Keep the hat and the poncho, Asriel. You are one mighty fine cowboy. Until next time"

She left before Asriel could say anything. Asriel didn't even know what he could have said! This was the second time this day an adult had taken the time to tell him he had influenced them in some way, and both times he felt very awkward. He was just a child; you couldn't expect him to know what to say!

"You don't seem happy" Frisk said, Asriel had been staring at the door with melancholic expression until Frisk brought him back to Earth. Asriel struggled to smile, still unsure how this all made him feel "You have changed Ananas for the better"

"I didn't even do anything"

"You were there and that is enough. Come on, let's go do something!" Frisk took Asriel by the arm, trying to distract Asriel from getting too introspective. Frisk wasn't good with words, they preferred action over words, and as they saw it, what Asriel needed right now was to have something to do. Asriel let himself be dragged to the terrace and again tried to smile.

-ooooo-

Later Graham would explain to Patta the Youth Troop was a large club mostly composed of high school students and college freshmen from everywhere in the city, most of its members ranging from fourteen to twenty years old. It was no more than a group who liked to create excursions, tournaments, and other activities to keep themselves busy during the whole year, and at least half of the adults in the city had been members at some point.

But of course, when Graham opened the door, Patta had no idea about all that. All they saw was a group of four teenagers standing there in the sidewalk, a flashy badge pinned to their clothes and showing their membership to the club. Once the door was open and both adults could see them, the teenagers cleared their throats.

"Youth Troop, Fifth Division members, always walking forward!" the tallest teenager proclaimed. He seemed to be the one Graham was more concerned about. In a way he did seem like the leader of the group, with that badge pinned to his bandanna and the gloves in his hands.

"The future awaits!" the other three shouted.

"And that's why we're here today, to pave our way, um, etc" he finished. Graham wasn't very impressed, though.

"Cohen, I have told you and your friends it isn't necessary to do that every time you arrive somewhere"

"It's fun!" the only female teenager in the group replied, the rest agreeing with her. Patta had to admit these four seemed to be quite energetic, at least. As long as that wasn't a problem that should be fine.

"Okay. Why are you four here?"

"We are here on an investigation, sir, um, sir..." Cohen fumbled in his words, one of his friends whispering to his ear. "Yo, thanks, Selby! Graham, right. Sir Graham, have you heard about the monster that was seen in the neighboring neighborhood?"

"Neighboring neighb-" Graham chuckled, trying to disguise the unease that had invaded him when Cohen mentioned the monster rumor. "No, I don't know anything. Why would I?"

Cohen's cheerful demeanor changed. He was a teenager with a mission, after all. This needed to be taken seriously. "Sir, we the Youth Troop are grateful for all the help you have given to our members all these years. That kindness of yours is legendary in our group! That's why we thought if anyone would give shelter to a monster it'd be you"

"That's not very good logic, in my opinion" Patta said, getting the teenagers' attention.

"Who the dickens are you?" the third teenager, Cam, glared at Patta "I don't think I have ever seen you around"

"Seems like a foreigner to me" Selby said. The teenagers stared at Patta for a moment, until the girl took out her cellphone and quickly snapped a photo of Patta.

"Hey!" Patta retreated to the wall.

"Knock that off, Mahiru!" Cohen said to her. Mahiru smiled sheepishly and put away the cellphone while Cohen tried to return to the conversation with Graham.

"There are no monsters inside my inn" Graham said in a tone that hopefully would make the teenagers go away. Selby, Mahiru and Cam did step back, but Cohen didn't retreat. He wasn't the kind of person that would retreat just because things got tough; he instead tried to step into the inn.

"Can we check?"

"No. I won't let you bother my guests"

"This sign here says there are no rooms available" Cam said, looking at the sign on the window "The inn must be full, if the monster were here they would notice it. I don't think it's in here. Let's go, Cohen"

"Gimme a minute" he replied, looking past Graham. Patta tried to hold his gaze, but it seemed Cohen had all his attention on them. "Yo, buddy, have you seen a monster around?"

"I haven't" Patta thought a quick answer was the best way to deal with that, but it seemed that wasn't enough for Cohen. He tapped Mahiru on her shoulder, making her approach to the door.

"What did your friend said about the person who had been walking with the monster? Is it this guy?"

* * *

 _I admit the moment I heard that I felt my blood freeze in my veins._

* * *

"Nice to see you again, guys, but my guests needs some peace" Graham tried to close the door but Cam held it open so Mahiru could observe Patta. Patta got out of her sight almost immediately, but that had been enough for her.

"...I don't know. Could be. I got this photo, I can ask him" so that was why she had taken a photo of Patta. It was official: they were screwed.

"Why do you care so much if there's a monster over the surface? You guys should know it's no more than a legend" Graham said tensely while Patta listened, out of sight.

"Sir, are you kidding me? It'd be awesome if there's one up here! Monsters are freaking cool!" Selby said, uninvited, earning a glare from Cohen. The leader of the group cracked his knuckles and said with a tone that showed his conviction.

"Sir, monsters living up here would be something that would change the way humans live. You wouldn't dare to stop something as good as that from happening, would you?"

"A single monster would be in danger up here" Graham replied, Cohen didn't seem to give importance to that.

"Who cares? It would be progress. It would show monsters exist, and then we humans could work with them to break the barrier, no matter what it takes. It would be the best thing to happen to this world"

"I don't know, man, the idea of monsters make me a bit nervous" Cam murmured but Cohen ignored him.

"We'll find the monster, and once we do we'll make sure it gets the recognition it deserves. Everyone in this city, in the country, in the planet...everyone will know about this! We'll change the future, and I won't let anyone get in the way of what could change our lives for the better!"

Patta really wanted to stand up to that teenager and tell him Asriel was in no condition to turn into humanity's little sideshow. He may be the Prince of All Monsters, but nobody could expect him to deal with the weight of everyone's attention, not alone. A single monster couldn't do that. Besides, not all humans would like the idea of Asriel supposedly working to break the barrier. There would be people who would try to stop him at any cost. Revealing Asriel's existence for the whole world without the backup of all the monsters in existence would be practically a death sentence.

There were just so many problems and flaws with Cohen's goal Patta felt greatly indignant, but saying all Patta wanted to say would be the same than _admitting_ there was a monster over the surface. The more this stayed as a mere rumor without existing proof, the better.

Graham shared their horror, though. "That's insane. Not everyone would think the same than you"

"You have no idea, sir. Have you heard what people say? Half of the people I have heard of want monsters to exist and are looking for any evidence of the existence of them"

"And what about the other half?"

Cohen didn't reply to that. Mahiru did, though:

"...they want nothing to do with monsters. This may not be a good idea, Cohen. What if the monster wants to go back into Mt. Ebott? Are you seriously going to try to stop it?"

Cohen turned around. "Yes. I will do anything I can to stop it if it wants to go back to the Underground. That'd be letting our new future escape. You will help, right, Mahiru?"

Mahiru hesitated, twiddling her thumbs. "...fine. I don't like it, but fine"

"Are we done?" Graham started to close the door, but Cohen stuck his foot in the doorstep.

"Sir, I ask as a friend, please: if there's a monster here please tell it to not to leave. This is our only chance...to change the world...please, don't let it escape"

"I'll keep it in mind" that was all Graham said. It was in no way a promise, but that was enough for Cohen. He retired his foot and let the door close. Graham and Patta watched from the window, the four teenagers walked away, arguing with each other "...Asriel is in big, big trouble. If any of those teenagers get proof of his existence he won't get a single minute of peace, ever. What can we do?"

"We need to leave as soon as possible" Patta declared, going towards the hallway "I'll go get the kids, please stop a cab" Before Patta could go to the parlor Graham grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "What?"

"Patta, do you ever feel like there's something you must do? Like...there's this voice in your head that tells you to go with a decision that doesn't seem to make sense?" he asked grimly. Patta was about to reply they had no idea what he was talking about, but then they remembered they indeed did know.

Wasn't something like that what led Asriel and them into that alleyway the day before? It was a decision no one with common sense would take, but it ended being the right decision, and it was all thanks to an intense gut feeling. What made it strange was that both Asriel and Patta felt it at the same time, that was what they didn't understand yet. "What about that?"

"Yesterday I felt something like that. That's why I called Ciruel earlier, and I think...I think it's very, very important Asriel meets Ciruel. I don't know why, but I just feel that"

"It feels like something wrong would happen if you don't follow that gut feeling" Patta murmured "Are you completely sure about that?" Graham nodded emphatically, and that was enough for Patta. What was going on with them, with Asriel and now with Graham? "Fine. What do you suggest we do? We can't stay in here or those teenagers are going to find out about Asriel anytime soon. Where does Ciruel live?"

"At the other side of the city, after downtown, but he's not in the city today. He comes back tomorrow at noon"

"Oh, come on! Fine, if we can't go where Ciruel lives and we can't stay here in the inn then..." there was one possibility more, a place where it was very unlikely anybody would bother them: Celia's abandoned house. "I'll get the kids" they said, but before they could step into the parlor Ananas exited it.

"Look who has arrived to the saloon-" she started to greet but Patta interrupted her, there was no time for weird accents or badly constructed western-related sentences.

"Annie, we're in big trouble. I need to get Asriel and Frisk to a nearby house-"

"They're still here" Graham said from the window. Indeed, the four teenagers had returned and stopped in a nearby store. It seemed like they had their eyes on the inn. Patta didn't know them very well, but in their opinion, Cohen was the biggest danger in that group. He seemed like the type to not to care about the problems he could find. Most would have thought determination could be his main trait, but the way he ran towards the future and tried to change it for the better...

...in Patta's opinion, it showed a bravery they truly envied. "I don't think they're going to leave any soon" Patta said, Graham nodding in agreement.

"Wait a secon', pardner, what's goin' on here?" Patta started to explain the situation to Ananas, but shortly after they started Frisk and Asriel came from the parlor, Frisk talking about some fun game to play in the terrace. Asriel seemed to be kind of downcast, and although Patta knew Asriel may not like the news, this was something he definitely had to know about.

Once Asriel, Frisk and Patta were together and sitting on the lobby chairs Patta started again, remarking they needed to be in Celia's house until the next morning, and that the problem was leaving the inn. "What's worse is that the Youth Troop also knows about me. They have a photo and all, so if they see me they may suspect something and catch me"

"They also think I'm protecting Asriel, I can't do anything either" Graham piped up too. Now that the explanation was finished, Patta paid attention to Asriel. The monster child's eyes were wide open with fear, the thought of being forcibly kept away from home and having to deal with such overwhelming hopes and dreams, which many humans didn't even share, was terrifying to him. Frisk's expression remained the same as usual, but they had passed their arm over Asriel's shoulders, trying to comfort him.

Ananas' reaction was the strangest, in Patta's opinion. She had greatly paled and averted her eyes from everybody, as if she couldn't bear looking at anybody. "Damn it, damn it, damn it" she kept muttering, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"What are we going to do, Patta? I'm scared; if I step outside they'll catch me and take my away. I can defend myself, but that would get everyone to turn against me. I don't know what to do!" Although Asriel was willing to fight, the Youth Troop was looking for proof of his existence. If that very proof ended showing him as a violent menace towards humanity then there would be almost no way of convincing everyone he meant no harm.

Everything was crumbling down around him, and for the first time since his arrival he started to truly understand how much of a problem being the only monster over the surface was. Until now, it all seemed like something that could happen but wasn't likely, after all he was just a little boss monster, harmless and gentle. However nobody else than a few humans knew that, not even the Youth Troop did. One single wrong move and all of humanity would have a mistaken opinion of him, and that was if some of them weren't predisposed against monsters in the first place.

"I wish Mom and Dad were here" he said, gripping his poncho tightly and about to cry "I wish I were already home..."

Patta approached and sat next to Asriel. They didn't know very well how physical contact was supposed to help, but it seemed worth a try. Careful not to bother Frisk, Patta scratched the back and top of Asriel's head in what they hoped was a soothing action. They didn't know, but as long as Asriel knew and understood Patta was going to do everything they could to help him, then it was good. "It will all be okay. We were confronted by a security guard, managed to fly overseas, and we already crossed part of the city. We'll manage to triumph over this problem too"

"Got any ideas, Patta?" Frisk asked, bringing Asriel closer to them. Patta didn't answer, deep in their thoughts, but they kept scratching Asriel's head absentmindedly. After a while, Asriel, now more relaxed, sat straighter although he didn't make Frisk and Patta stop the limited physical contact.

"Thank you, guys. It's good to know there are people I can rely on" it was at least comforting to have Patta and Frisk with him. As long as they were there, Asriel felt safe, even if outside there were groups of humans trying to catch him. "I can't think of any way to get out of here without them noticing me. What can we do, Patta?" Neither Frisk, Graham or Ananas seemed to have any ideas, either.

Patta finally stopped petting Asriel. "...I think I may have a plan. Asriel, go upstairs and bring the knapsack. Annie, we're going to need your help with this too, we'll need your car. Graham, bring something large enough to conceal somebody of Asriel's size in a way nobody can see who he is. Frisk, keep an eye on the Youth Troop through the window. With some luck we'll fool the Youth Troop for enough time for us to get to the abandoned house"

There was only one chance. Outside, sundown had started.


	14. Bonds

**I usually reply to reviews through private messages, but since this was an anonymous review that contained a comment I wished to reply to I suppose I'll have to do it here. Guest reviewer says: "Love the story, though it does get a bit confusing when you refer to Patta and Frisk as "They". Just a suggestion, but maybe give Patta a gender sometime soon? I know I personally imagine him as male"**

 **First thank all, thank you for taking the time to comment! Now, by now I can confirm that yeah, Patta is male. Since Chapter 11 that stopped being a mystery, however I haven't been using male pronouns for him for one reason related to characterization. You see, while the narration is not meant to be through a single character's point of view, it's influenced to some point by Patta's subconscious. Patta doesn't feel like a person with a real and complete identity, as mentioned: "A person is defined by all the experiences they have lived through in the past and all the possible moments they will live in the future". While Patta is already willing to create a future for himself, he hasn't accepted and let go his past experiences and pains, so he can't see himself as a person with a complete identity yet. Once that happens the narration -and therefore the characters and Patta himself- will be able to see the change in pronouns.**

 **It is all kind of complicated, but yeah. I hope I managed to explain my intentions without any confusion, heh.**

 **Say, leaving that aside, I have also noticed a noticeable increase in the daily views/visitors counter since around a week ago. That sure was unexpected, heh. I hope everyone is at least having a decent time with the story. Thank you for reading.**

* * *

Mahiru sipped her soda, reading attentively the feed of the social network. She had just received a message from her friend, the one who had seen the human with the supposed monster. It was an affirmative answer with an important deal of reticence, but that was enough for the Youth Troop.

Practically everyone in the city were members of the social networks, and Youth Troop members all over the city had created groups for everyone to mingle and talk. Mahiru was checking the one the Fifth Division usually socialized in, reading the posts. "Guys, check that. Yesterday's stupid poll is finally over"

"About time. Lemme check what the new one is..." Selby took out his own cellphone to see the new poll.

"What was yesterday's poll, again? 'Would you smooch a ghost?'" Cam scoffed, leaning against the wall without stopping looking at the entrance of the Creme Bruleé inn.

The four teenagers were in a café near the inn, having taken one of the tables as their spot to watch in case the monster or the human who accompanied it tried to leave the inn. While Cohen was pretty much the only one who believed the monster was in there, the rest of the teenagers had accompanied him out of loyalty.

Cohen turned his head around. "Whoever made that poll is a moron, yo. The answers were even worse. 'Hell no' being the only answer does not a good poll make"

"Some wiseass did post 'hell yeah' in the comments" Mahiru closed the results of the past day's poll, instead going to check the new one. When she saw what it was, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wow! The word gets around fast!" she turned her phone around, showing the new poll to her friends.

'IF YOU ENCOUNTERED THIS MONSTER WHAT WOULD YOU DO'

Somebody with mediocre artistic inclinations had drawn an illustration of the monster Cohen had been looking for. The image was clearly influenced by all kind of outlandish rumors about the monster. It was a tall and lanky creature with a menacing expression, hunched over, with matted fur and curved horns that reached its shoulder blades, and a seriously effect-ruining cowboy ensemble that included boots and a ridiculous hat.

"That's one ugly motherwooer" Cam said in his usual roundabout way of swearing. "Look at those teeth"

"Bet it could eat Selby if it wanted" Cohen considered approaching the inn again to try to look through the windows. Selby, who definitely didn't want to be eaten anytime soon, paled at that.

"H-h-h-hey, I'm sure the m-monster can't be that bad, right? Right, guys?"

"You can't know that. I'm sure monsters are like animals. Bet they can't even talk. Picture that, a goat monster trying to use hand signals to communicate" Cam shook his head "Cohen, this is a waste of time. I want to go home"

"Fine, go home" Cohen authorized. Cam started to pick up his stuff, relieved of not having to continue standing there doing nothing. It was already night and the wind was starting to pick up, it seemed like it was going to be a cold night.

"People are trying to look tough! 34% say they would attempt to fight the monster" Mahiru scrolled down further "...but most say they would run away. I didn't think everyone would get so fired up about rumors"

"Imagine how it'll be when we finally get proof about the monster. The whole city will go crazy about this" Cohen smiled "I can't wait for that to happen"

"Why are you so sure people will like the monster? Hell, why are you so sure it exists?" Cam frowned "You know what they say about the guy who saw it first?"

"I know what people say about him, yo" Cohen shrugged "It's just that...do you know the legend?"

"Of course we do. It's practically mandatory reading in school" Selby said.

"Haven't you ever wondered how life was while monsters and humans lived together? I haven't found much, but before the war it sounded like those were nice enough times. If we can live peacefully with monsters again our future would be much better than the load of crap it is right now"

"Even if we got a photo people could say they're fake. You know how people can be sometimes"

"We can take lots of photos or maybe a video, that will make it more credible"

"That doesn't answer anything I asked" Cam crossed his arms. Cohen looked at the curtains of the inn, it seemed like somebody was looking outside. He couldn't distinguish who it was.

"...I just want it to be true. And depending of the monster's behavior people will support them living among us. If...if we can play our cards right...things are bound to get better. I want so badly to see the monster and convince it to stay!"

"What did Ciruel say?" Mahiru had finally left her cellphone aside.

"He agrees with me. Who did you think told me the monster was at the inn? Apparently the innkeeper told him about the monster"

The rumor mill was a good enough source of information, but Cohen trusted only reliable sources. Ciruel, a known ex-member of the Youth Troop, was one of the people Cohen liked the most. They shared many interests and enjoyed each other's company, Cohen considering Ciruel as a big brother of sorts. "He says he's going to meet the monster, but first he wanted me to make sure it existed. And you three are my best friends; I couldn't just leave you all out of this"

"You're cool and all, man, but you can be a pain in the derriere at times" Cam sighed and turned away "Good luck with your goat monster thing. I'm out" and so he went away.

"Damn it, Cam" Cohen looked at the other two teenagers "You two support me, right?"

"I'm all for it. I want to see a monster too" Selby grinned "Count me in"

"...Cohen, don't freak out but I want to help the monster and you. I'll do the best I can for both of you" Mahiru nodded. "Talk to Cam tomorrow, he's just in bad mood today"

"Yeah" in that moment Selby saw the door of the inn opening. He shushed the others and pointed at the inn. The light of the lampposts was dim and the night was dark, so they had some trouble distinguishing what was going on. Mahiru, who had the best sight out of all of them, told them what she could see.

"...seems like a woman. Tall, around fifty years old. Cowboy clothes"

"Like the monster. You don't think the guy thought she was a monster, right?" Selby tried to joke, knowing about the gossip about the first person who saw the supposed monster.

"Shut up" Cohen stood up, quickly left money on the counter to pay for the sodas and moved in the shadows to get a little closer. His two friends followed him, keeping an eye on the person that came out with her.

"That seems to be a child, maybe a relative of hers. Why does he have a raincoat?" Mahiru whispered.

"Who cares, it's not our business. I really hope a certain somebody didn't mix up this woman for a monster or I will...I will..." it seemed Cohen was keeping his anger in check, but judging for the way his veins bulged suppressing his anger was something he had to do rather often. Mahiru and Selby carefully stepped away from him.

The woman and the child in the raincoat entered a nearby car, turned on the headlights and drove away towards downtown. Mahiru tried to see inside the car, but saw nothing to report. "What if that guy doesn't leave the inn? We can't spend the whole night watching"

"If the monster is in there they'll want to leave as soon as possible. That's when we'll strike" Selby said "Let's give it an hour or two more, they won't want to leave when it's late at night. Graham wouldn't let them" This was not a very nice neighborhood late at night, that was why Graham locked the doors instead of hiring somebody to deal with any potential clients during the nights.

"Shut up, the door is opening" Mahiru, with her excellent eyesight, recognized Patta. "It's them"

"Do you see the monster?"

"Yes. Yes! Cowboy clothes. It's the size of a child, though"

"The monster may be a mere child?" Selby whispered. He liked children and had skills dealing with them, at least in his opinion. The thought of causing trouble to a child, even if it was a monster, was something he loathed to even think. Seeing a monster, not bothering a child, both wishes were in conflict. Unfortunately the first half seemed to be getting the upper hand.

"We know almost nothing about monsters. For all we know monster adults are tiny like this" Cohen frowned "Whoever drew the image for that poll really took some artistic liberties, yo"

Patta looked from side to side, not noticing the Youth Troop in the shadows. The three teenagers watched Patta grab the supposed monster's hand, leading them in the opposite direction of Mt. Ebott. Being careful to not to get their attention, the three teenagers sped up, trying to catch up with them.

However it seemed their stealth attempts weren't enough. As if they felt there was something wrong going on, Patta sped up. The child had no problem following their pace, always staying close to the adult. Neither the child nor the adult hesitated when running, it seemed like they had a clear objective. Seeing their targets were running away, the teenagers abandoned all intention to stay in the shadows and started to run too.

Cohen, being a natural athlete, got closer and closer to them, his two friends being left behind. Patta turned their head around, an expression of panic showing in their face. "Damn it!" they gently pushed the child to a side. Apparently it was some kind of signal, as the child parted ways once they got to the corner. Patta and the child ran in opposite directions.

Cohen stopped, looking at each one for a moment. The child was the obvious choice, but they also wanted to ask Patta a few questions, namely how they had gotten in contact with a monster in the first place.

"Cohen, wait!" Selby reached him, panting "Let's both of us go for the monster. Mahiru can go for the adult"

"Seems fine to me" There was no time for talking. Cohen and Selby ran in direction where the monster had gone, while Mahiru, despite her protests, had to go towards the adult.

Patta had a surprising amount of stamina, despite having been running as fast as they could for several minutes, they showed no signs of slowing down. "H-Hey! Slow down, I just want to-" Mahiru shouted but had no breath to have a conversation while running. Patta ignored her and turned around the corner.

When Mahiru followed them down the bend, she stopped when she noticed she couldn't see Patta anymore. "What? What?!" The street was long and one way, how could Patta have disappeared so soon? It wasn't like they suddenly got fast enough to get to the end in just a couple seconds. Not wanting to disappoint Cohen by telling him she had given up so quickly, she walked down the street, trying to find any possible paths Patta could have taken.

-ooooo-

Patta felt like they could fall down and faint at any moment.

Just like they had expected the teenagers had followed them. They had hoped Cohen and his friends wouldn't manage to follow their pace but Cohen had shown to be faster than they had expected. Running in opposite directions was more of a plan B, as their original plan was to confuse the teenagers by using the large net of alleyways this part of the city had, but before they could arrive Cohen had reached them.

While the warehouse leading to Celia's house was near the inn they couldn't have just entered through there, the Youth Troop would have seen them, so their plan was to enter through the alleyway they had used the day before. Of course, since Patta knew nothing about the city, all they had to rely on was their memory and a relatively detailed description of the area, given by Frisk.

Thankfully, they had no problem finding the alley after getting separated from their temporal young charge, but they had felt too weak to continue running. They had to take a moment to rest. The problem was that they hadn't managed to leave the pursuer far enough to feel comfortable.

They took a deep breath and felt the meat tenderizer in their coat. Graham had insisted they took it with them, arguing 'going out at night in this neighborhood is not a good idea', although since it was early in the night it wasn't so dangerous. Still, they were a foreigner, one was a child, one was a monster and a child and the last one in the group was going to stay in her car. They thought of Ananas. The plan was that she was going to keep safe the child she had taken with her until the Youth Troop had gone away. Just as they had once said before: nobody was going to bother to take a good look inside a car.

The steps outside made Patta freeze, and they took out their weapon. This thing had all the possibilities of going so wrong, those spikes were worrying. To make it worse they had already seen first-hand how much strength they had, the damaged frying pan came to their mind. Patta promised to them they wouldn't use that meat tenderizer unless it was the very last option. Thinking it better they put the tenderizer away, hurting an innocent person was something they wanted to avoid.

The pursuer appeared outside the alleyway they had entered. It was the female teenager, what was her name? Mahiru? Patta tried to blend with the shadows and held their breath, but it seemed they weren't going to have any luck. "I know you're in here, man!" she shouted into the alleyway. Patta didn't reply, but that didn't deter her. She hesitated at first, but then gathered her courage and stepped into the alleyway. Somehow, she managed to pass by without noticing Patta, despite the alley being so narrow Patta felt Mahiru so close they could have tripped her just by moving their foot forward a bit.

It seemed she was no fan of the idea of exploring dark alleyways in middle of the night because she stopped after a few feet, staring deep into the alleyway with apprehension. Taking advantage of this, Patta tried to move as stealthily as possible towards the street.

Unfortunately, it seemed even their best attempt to be stealthy was doomed to fail. Even though they didn't make any noise, Mahiru turned around with a yelp, her eyes darting around in a panic. She noticed Patta in the entrance of the alleyway. The sight of a silhouette against the entrance, without being able to see any features, and the environment of the oppressive alleyway was too much for her. Scared, she stumbled backwards, but the alleyway was uneven and craggy. She tripped and fell against the wall, hitting her head against the bricks. Patta froze for a moment, hoping to see Mahiru stand up, but she didn't. Feeling the cold sweat gathering on their brow, Patta delicately grabbed Mahiru's body in their arms and retreated further into the alleyway until they got to a lamppost. This was the plaza that was shortly before the path to the abandoned house, empty buildings were the only stuff around. Once they reached the light Patta examined the wound on her head. It was bleeding a lot, which was something normal head wounds did, they knew that, but that didn't stop their heart from jumping to their throat. "Oh god, please be okay..." Mahiru, albeit unconscious, seemed to be breathing without trouble, and her pulse was steady. The head wound was worrying, but it wasn't like she would bleed out.

Of course, leaving Mahiru lying around was definitely not an option. They looked in their pocket for their cellphone but then remembered Asriel still had it. Feeling the frustration bubbling in them, they carried Mahiru as well as they could towards the abandoned house. Taking responsibility of the consequences was the right thing to do, and although neither Asriel, Frisk nor Celia was going to be happy about this, at least at first, Patta wasn't going to change their mind.

When they got to the chain-link fence gate near Celia's abandoned house. Luckily it was open, so there wasn't going to be any need to climb while dragging Mahiru. Would that even be possible? Patta carried Mahiru to the porch of the abandoned house and knocked.

Frisk was the one to open the door, still wearing the cowboy ensemble. "Frisk?! How did you get here so fast?"

"I ran" that was their only answer. It was to be expected Frisk would manage to get here; they knew the city like the back of their hand. Going through the alleyways and streets would be easy enough for them. Still, this was no time for idle chatting. Patta entered and left Mahiru to a side of the foyer.

"Alright. Alright, everything is going to be okay" Patta said, pacing from side to side of the foyer. The sight of Mahiru bleeding got them greatly anxious, especially because, in their way to view the events, it had been their fault. If they had been more careful, Mahiru wouldn't have noticed their presence. They should have stayed still; after all they had noticed Mahiru was jumpy and rattled. Or if they had at least run fast enough to lose Mahiru earlier...! In their opinion, they had led Mahiru to get hurt.

"What did you do to her?"

Frisk's question had a tone that made them shudder. Frisk didn't shout or make big gestures, but their tone was chilling in the way they pronounced those words. It didn't take long before Patta remembered Frisk had likely seen the FIGHT with Graham. It was possible Frisk thought Patta had done something like bludgeon Mahiru with the meat tenderizer. "I did nothing" Patta said "S-She was about to find out, then she stumbled into the alley, and-" their pupils had shrunk to pinpricks "Oh god, oh god, oh god, I screwed up real bad. What if something else happens to her? It's going to be my fault!"

Something in Patta's desperation made Frisk step back. It wasn't because Frisk was scared; it was more because in this state it was unlikely Patta was going to listen to any attempt to calm them down. Instead, Frisk started to fear for Mahiru's life. Hoping with all their heart she was okay Frisk examined Mahiru's head, delicately taking a look. "She'll be okay" they said with great relief.

"Do you think? She's bleeding a lot, and she's unconscious. That's never a good sign"

"It doesn't seem so bad. I have bandages in my room" Patta didn't need to be told that twice. They ran upstairs, arriving to the bedroom Frisk shared with Celia. It seemed the little girl was still awake. Patta knocked, and once they received authorization they asked where the bandages were. Celia gave the bandages to them.

"Is Frisk okay? Are they hurt? Is Asriel hurt?" she asked, knowing asking for bandages wasn't something anybody did just for fun. Patta didn't answer, instead running back downstairs, followed by Celia. It seemed that running did Patta some good, as when they returned to the foyer they didn't feel so high-strung. Now that they had calmed down they applied the bandages on Mahiru's head, making sure to not to inflict any damage.

"Right. I think she's going to be okay, but I really hope she awakens up soon" Patta said, leaving aside the remaining bandages.

"Who is she?" Celia asked, staying near the stairs.

"...I don't know very well. It's a long story" Before anybody else could say something, somebody knocked at the door. Frisk immediately looked through the window, and smiled when they saw who it was.

"They arrived" Frisk opened the door, letting Asriel and Ananas enter. The plan to get Asriel in a safe place while Patta and Frisk distracted the Youth Troop was a success. Too bad it had been ruined in the very last phase. Asriel took off the hood of the raincoat and gasped when he saw Mahiru, and Ananas took a deep breath.

"Patta, I hope there's an explanation for this" she said, dangerously calm. It was the same calmness she had in the airport when she had thought Patta had kidnapped a child. Wanting to get everything straight as soon as possible, Patta told Asriel and Ananas what had happened. The security guard seemed to understand "I see. Maybe it'd be good to get her medical attention"

"I agree. Asriel, do you have my cellphone?"

"No need for that, I'll call" she took out her cellphone. Her dialing was interrupted by Mahiru, who in that moment was finally awakening. Everybody stepped back, giving her space. Mahiru grit her teeth and tried to stand up, grabbing her head with one hand.

"Aaagh! What the hell...?" she exclaimed. Asriel, feeling a pang of sympathy, approached her.

"Are you okay?" Asriel gave Mahiru his hand, helping her to stand up. Mahiru, who had kept her eyes closed due to the pain, stood up, mumbling grateful words for the kid who had helped her. Once she was steady on her feet she slowly opened them, groaning.

As soon as she distinguished Asriel she shrieked and jumped back, immediately grabbing her head again in a bout of dizziness. "My head! What happened to me? I remember I was looking for you, and then..." she glared at Patta "...you! What did you do to me?!"

"You hit your head against the wall" Patta said, almost meekly "You tripped and fell"

"Did I? I..." Mahiru cringed, pained "I see. Where am I?"

"This is an abandoned house. That is all you need to know for now. Do you feel okay? Can you walk by yourself?"

"I can, I can. Stop worrying about me" she growled and looked at Asriel. It seemed like she was having a hard time deciding if she had hit her head way too hard. "Is this for real? Is that a monster?"

"Howdy!" Asriel said, grinning. Mahiru stared at him for a moment, trailing the palm of her hand with her fingers and reminiscing of the feel of Asriel's hand grabbing hers, which was enough to show this was not a visual hallucination brought from some serious concussion.

Either this monster was real or the head wound had affected much more than what anyone expected.

"Oh. Uh...I see. I'm so confused, monsters weren't supposed to be real..." she muttered. Asriel lowered his eyes and Mahiru actually felt bad for potentially having hurt his feelings. This was far, far from what she had expected when Cohen had told her there was a monster on the surface. "I don't mean you're not real! This is too much for me, okay?" Mahiru wobbly walked towards the door "I should be going away now"

"I could take you to the emergency room" Ananas offered "You should get your head examined"

"Oh my god, what a mess. My parents are going to have a thousand questions" Mahiru cringed and turned to Asriel "And Cohen will want to know about you"

"You won't tell them" Patta immediately intervened, having recovered from their fear of Mahiru not waking up from the wound "We have enough problems for you to add one more"

"Don't tell them, please" Asriel said softly. Everybody stayed silent while Asriel approached her. Mahiru didn't back off, looking at Asriel with a mix of apprehension and pity "I want to see my parents again. I just want to go home"

Mahiru couldn't bear looking at Asriel's eyes. Now that she had seen the monster herself she couldn't continue helping Cohen out of good faith. This was not a monster that could represent a potential danger, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally, nor was a monster that could get to the mountain by himself and actually was callously taking advantage of people.

He was no more than a lost child. Mahiru closed her eyes, thinking what she'd do if this weren't a monster but a human kid trying to get home. Would she really get in the way of that? She didn't hesitate for even a second before the answer resonated in her. She wouldn't.

Just because this child was some sort of goat it didn't mean she couldn't sympathize. "Stop looking at me like that. I won't tell him. But really, Cohen will think you or any of your human friends attacked me. I don't think he'll stop, even if he knows what you're trying to do"

"Tell them what really happened" Frisk suggested. Mahiru turned towards Frisk, her eyes slightly widening when she recognized them. She had just noticed they were wearing the cowboy clothes

"You're in this too, eh? You know how they are, Frisk. Cohen is too stubborn and Cam already declared he doesn't want anything to do with monsters. With some luck he won't change his mind" she touched the bandages on her head "Maybe Selby would believe me, I don't know"

"Thank you for trying" Asriel gave her a sweet smile and Mahiru, much to her surprise, found herself smiling too. Asriel seemed like a nice monster.

"I should get going. I'll take the offer to go to the hospital" she said to Ananas. The security chief nodded and left the abandoned house with Mahiru after reminding Asriel she would be away of the city starting tomorrow. The group heard Mahiru asking Ananas how she had gotten involved in all this, and soon the voice of Ananas explaining to Mahiru everything faded in the darkness outside.

The group in the abandoned house stayed in silence until Celia broke the silence. "…that sure was something" she turned to Frisk "I thought Asriel would be home by now"

"People know Asriel is over the surface"

"Oh no…"

"Is it okay if we sleep here, Celia?" Asriel asked. Celia immediately brightened up, taking Asriel's hand.

"Of course! But, um…I don't know where you two can sleep" Celia looked around "We're four. Two of us could take a mattress and-"

"No need for that, I'll use a couch down here" Patta said, checking the dilapidated furniture that littered the foyer "I think sharing a mattress with one of you children even for one night would be…creepy, to say the least" Patta could think several words that would fit better how uncomfortable and wrong it would be, in their opinion.

"Oh, okay. I'll bring you a blanket. Let's go, guys" Celia went upstairs but Frisk excused themselves, staying in the foyer with Patta. Patta, unsure why Frisk had stayed, sat on the old couch and waited Frisk to say something.

"You were very scared" they said. Patta raised their eyebrows and smirked.

"You sure don't beat around the bush when you're talking to somebody that isn't your friend, eh?" Patta had to admit they found that behavior kind of unsettling, but they didn't mention it.

"Why?" Frisk inquired. Such a short question yet it made Patta sigh. They did know exactly why they had freaked out when Mahiru had gotten hurt, and they knew why they had felt responsible for that.

"…Frisk, I'm not sure if I should be telling this to you, but I'm afraid of death. It's not a phobia (I hope), but it scares me" Patta laid on the couch "And what scares me the most is that something I do could lead somebody else to die. The thought it'd be because of me that somebody else's life could be snuffed out…it is terrifying"

"Oh" Frisk sat on the floor, leaning on the couch.

"That teenage girl, for example. I know absolutely nothing about her, but if she had died because I wasn't agile or stealthy enough I don't know what I would have done" Patta closed their eyes, feeling something primal and raw filling their chest "It has been so long since I bothered to actually bond with people, but that fear is something I never forgot even after I gave up on everything. I'm not saying I would do something, uh, cowardly if this worst fear happened, but…

…I don't think I would ever forgive myself. I wouldn't ever be able to find a reason to continue living…I'd rather just go away somewhere and never return"

Damn it, what was up today with them telling children such heavy feelings? First Asriel and now Frisk. All that remained was to call Celia and tell her about some other woes, why not. But in a way they felt relieved, getting in touch again with what they felt, even if they were largely negative emotions.

* * *

 _It's nice for somebody to listen when you need to talk. I suppose that's why I talk to myself so often now, because who else is expected to listen? There's nobody here._

* * *

Frisk nodded, as if they understood everything Patta had said, and scratched Patta's head just like the adult had done to Asriel an hour and half ago. Perhaps Patta had given the impression that's what one was supposed to do when somebody else was upset. "It's okay" Such a short answer but Patta felt greatly relieved.

"Hah…Frisk; you're a weird kid in many ways. We should spend more time together"

"We already do"

"We have barely spoken more than a few minutes since we met in the warehouse!"

"Today we shared a snail pie" they said, smiling. Patta laughed, that was true. It seemed Frisk had forgiven them for the bad impressions they had earlier. Patta now knew for sure this trip to take Asriel home was changing them in many ways. They had already confronted bad traits, managed to change their view about the future and now they had started to learn to open up to other people. What else could happen to them?

And not only that, for the first time in several years, Patta could feel they were bonding with others. Asriel was starting to be somebody they greatly cared about, in a way they were starting to think of themselves as a temporal uncle…a guardian of sorts for the monster child, although maybe it was too soon to consider themselves that. Frisk…they weren't sure about Frisk yet, but they felt like they could be closer with Frisk too. Somehow Frisk had the same calming presence Asriel did, even if they tended to keep it more hidden than Asriel.

And about the rest? Their bonds with the rest of the people they had met so far were tenuous, but Patta could feel appreciation towards them, at the very least. They were happy to have met them.

-ooooo-

"Patta?"

Patta opened their eyes wearily. It was still dark, and their wristwatch indicated it was around 1:00 AM. This was too early to do anything. They turned their head around, feeling their back aching, and focused on the person who had awoken them.

Asriel was there, rocking on his feet. Patta sat up, untangling themselves from the blanket. "What is it, Asriel?"

"I, um…I had a nightmare and I…" Asriel rubbed their eyes sleepily "…it was about what I saw before appearing in your house"

That got Patta to be a bit more lucid. Neither they nor Asriel had mentioned not even once Asriel's tale about the void, why was it mentioned again?" Did you remember something else?"

"No, I think I remember even less than before" Asriel sat to Patta's side, fiddling with his long ears "I dreamed about the screams and not much other than that. I'm wondering…why don't I feel more affected by it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw somebody die right in front of me! And I'm not even crying about that when I think about it" Asriel said that as if that defined how much that mattered here. Patta mulled it for a moment, getting to a conclusion that seemed to make sense.

"I think it's harder to empathize with a stranger. If it had been somebody you knew then maybe it'd be different"

"So because I didn't know that person..." Asriel had a hard time understanding that.

"When we met you were more scared than grieving. It must have been a shock, but whoever died was somebody you didn't even know the name of. That's it"

"Oh" that sounded much simpler than Asriel had expected, but that didn't mean he really understood it. Still, it was too late in the night for extensive meditations about something like this. He may as well return to sleep. "Uh...want some company?"

"It's time to sleep, Asriel" Patta said, expecting Asriel to get off the couch. He didn't move, though, instead huddling into the blanket. "What's wrong?"

"I thought you'd want somebody to accompany you" Asriel said. It didn't take long for Patta to understand what was going on. That nightmare, even if it hadn't been intense or very upsetting, had been enough to unsettle Asriel. Perhaps he considered that requesting somebody's company to sleep was something a kid of his age shouldn't do, so he was trying to disguise that need as concern for Patta.

"If you want to sleep here then just say it, Asriel" Patta said. It was too dark to say it with certainty, but they were pretty sure Asriel had just blushed in embarrassment.

"...do you mind if I stay here?"

"The couch isn't very comfy, but if you insist..." Asriel wasn't exactly big. Surely both could sleep well enough. Each one settled onto a half of the couch, Patta having to keep their legs bent so Asriel could huddle on an end of the couch. Still, it wasn't that uncomfortable. Soon Patta could hear Asriel snoring softly.

Feeling relaxed, Patta fell asleep shortly after that.

* * *

 _...Asriel always seemed to me like somebody who trusted people quite easily, but I admit I never thought he'd trust me this much. I felt...honored. It may have been only for a few days, but I'm never going to forget how meaningful it felt. He was like...I don't know, a relative I was in charge of, a younger brother, a son, what I mean is that he was somebody under my protection and I was happy knowing Asriel trusted me too._

 _..._

 _...I wish I could meet Asriel in person again. I miss that goober, I really do._


	15. Unwitting Blithe Spirit

Sixty hours remained.

Asriel woke up to somebody shaking him gently. He opened his eyes, yawning widely, and looked at the person who had awoken him. It was Frisk. "Howdy, Frisk"

Frisk smiled and stood aside, gesturing Asriel to come. It seemed like they had prepared something and intended only Asriel to come. Asriel blinked, trying to get rid of the sleep, and looked out of the window. "Frisk, it's still dark outside! What's going on?"

"There's something I want to show you" Frisk whispered, pointing towards the second floor "Come when you're ready" they grinned and ran upstairs without making a noise. It didn't take long for Asriel to go upstairs, where he found Frisk waiting at the end of the hall. He was bouncing excitedly, somehow really energetic despite the early hour.

"What is it? I want to sleep, Frisk" Asriel suppressed another yawn and seriously considering ditching his friend to go sleep for a while longer if this wasn't worth his time. Frisk didn't seem to care about Asriel's not-so-subtle messages and took what seemed to be a hook glued to a long stick.

"It'll be worth it, I promise" they said, grabbing a ring in the ceiling with the hook. Frisk pulled, revealing a thin staircase that ascended to the attic. The perspective of dwelling into a dusty attic at five in the morning didn't really appeal to Asriel, who muttered a long 'uuuuuh...' while slowly walking backwards "Let's go"

"I won't go if you don't tell me what's up there" Asriel finally said, it was too early for these antics. Frisk, finally sensing Asriel was in a bad mood due to the early awakening, tried to appease their friends.

"It's a surprise. Trust me, Azzy, this will be good"

"...Azzy?" That was new. That was clearly a nickname! All his friends in the Underground had some reverence towards him due to being the Prince of All Monsters, and although none of them got to the point where they called him by a title all of them called him by his name with a certain degree of formality. Unsure of how to feel about the nickname Asriel uttered another drawn 'uuuuh' while Frisk disappeared into the attic. Deciding getting done with whatever surprise Frisk has was going to be quicker than resisting; Asriel sighed and climbed the stairs.

The attic was pretty much filled with dust. Asriel could practically feel it cluttering in his fur. Trying not to breathe, he called for Frisk. "Over here!" he heard from a corner of the attic, where Frisk was putting away pieces of the ceiling. Starting to feel his eyes sting Asriel approached them, hoping this was going to be done before he fainted due to not breathing.

Once a hole was made Frisk climbed out and helped Asriel to follow them, having arrived where the human child had wanted to go. The cold air outside was a welcome change from the stuffy atmosphere in the attic, and Asriel could appreciate the dim light outside. They were on the roof. "Isn't this dangerous? We should get off, Frisk"

"We'll be okay as long as we don't move too much" Frisk said, lying on the roof.

"Frisk, I'm tired, my fur is filled with dust and I think I want to punch you. Please, let's get this over with" Asriel pleaded bluntly. He was definitely not in good mood today.

"Look over there" Frisk pointed towards the distance. Asriel groaned and obeyed, looking where Frisk had pointed. The abandoned house was high enough for Asriel and Frisk to be able to see beyond the city and into the nearby valleys. The airport was on a plateau to a side, but that wasn't what Frisk was pointing at.

In the horizon there was a reddish glow. For anyone it would have been a common sight, something that happened every day and never bothered to think about. But for Asriel...well, he had no idea what that was. "What's that?"

"It's the sunrise. I thought you had never seen one before"

"I haven't..." Asriel was getting used to the sun but to be honest he hadn't ever planned to see the sunrise. It was beautiful to see the red tint turn into orange and yellow "Uh...it's kind of slow, isn't it?"

"It is" Frisk admitted. This wasn't going like they had expected it to go. They had thought Asriel would be amazed the sunrise, but Asriel's reaction had been lukewarm at best. "Do you like it?"

"I do" Asriel nodded "Thank you for bringing me here"

"Oh. It's nothing" This was underwhelming. Frisk was starting to regret having awoken Asriel up for this "I thought you'd be happy to see this" they said with a bit of resentment.

"I am happy"

"Let's return inside" Frisk started to stand up but Asriel stopped them, still staring in the distance.

"You haven't told me about yourself. Tell me something about you"

"There's nothing to say. I'm just...me" Frisk reluctantly sat down. They didn't like very much to talk about themselves, especially because in their opinion there was nothing to say "What do you want to know?"

"Where are your parents?"

"...I don't remember them. I have been living in the streets for a long time" they shrugged "This house is where I have lived for most of my life"

"Alone?" Asriel still didn't understand how a child could live alone, much less in a place like this. Everyone Asriel had known Underground had a family in some way, why did Frisk have to be different on this regard?

"Yeah, alone. I met Celia two years ago. We play, we explore, she's fun" they smiled sadly "I'll miss her when she returns to her house someday"

"And what will you do when she does?"

"...I will continue living here, I think. She wants me to go with her but I don't think I want to" Frisk looked away "She is my friend but I don't want to live with her. She'd be with a new family and I can't call them my family"

"I think Graham would be happy to give you a home"

"I don't want to live with Graham. He's nice but..." Frisk looked Asriel straight to the eyes "...Azzy, please don't tell this to anybody else but...I don't like humanity very much"

That by itself was very damning, Frisk was a young kid. To not to like humans at such an early age must have a cause. Asriel didn't know a lot about humans, most of what he had heard hadn't been...exactly flattering. Being over the surface had shown him another side of humanity, but he could see that there was a deal of truth behind everything he had heard before.

The way everyone tiptoed around him, the way everyone focused so much on trying to hide him, it all had reasons rooted on humanity itself. There was no sense in denying humans could be...dangerous, so to say.

Hoping what he could hear now didn't make humans look even worse, Asriel asked: "Why?"

"Since I remember I have been living alone in the streets. Why hasn't somebody helped me? I know a lot of people give me food and a bed sometimes, but it never lasts for long" Frisk was raising their voice, revealing what they had in their heart. From the sound of it, Frisk hadn't told anybody any of this. Finally being able to vent must feel really good. "I shouldn't be living like this. All I want is a place I can call home, a family, something, but...I don't know"

Not even Frisk themselves seemed to know very well what they were feeling. It sounded confusing, Asriel had not understood everything Frisk had said, and it was no surprise! Something like a dislike for all humanity isn't the kind of thing that a kid could really deal with. Besides, it was obvious by now to Asriel that Frisk was a kind-hearted person, something as negative as that dislike was in direct conflict with their nature.

It really was no surprise Frisk wasn't sure of what they felt, apparently.

"Sorry, Azzy, I must sound weird" Frisk tried to smile cheerfully "Uh, and sorry for awakening you for this, too" they crawled as quickly as possible back into the attic, leaving Asriel alone on the roof. The goat kid sighed.

Humans were seriously confusing. Asriel had thought he had started to understand humanity, but since the past day more and more strange stuff were told to him. He liked humans, or at least the ones he had met so far, but he had to admit all of them had some pretty complicated feelings bottled inside them.

"What would Mom say? What would Dad do?" he muttered to himself. His parents were the wisest and most reliable people he knew; surely they would know what to say or do to help everyone feel a bit better. Ananas, Celia and Patta may have said he had helped them already, but he didn't believe that. He hadn't done anything!

All Asriel knew was that even if he had no idea what he was doing and that although humans were showing to be very complex he couldn't deny he was learning a lot. He felt he was growing as a person, that being here over the surface was being good. Asgore would listen and say something like this was a learning experience and that everything he saw and learnt would be useful once the barrier was broken. After all, chances were that Asriel would be the King of All Monsters by the time monsters were finally able to live in the surface, so he would have to deal with humanity in behalf of his people.

Asriel didn't feel like sleeping anymore, so he decided to just go ahead and see what this day was going to bring. Feeling a bit hopeful, he raised his head. The sky was taking its normal blue color, although there were a lot of gray clouds hovering over the city.

Frisk was right; this was something he had never seen before. The sunrise truly was beautiful.

-ooooo-

"...I didn't stay for long, but from what I heard she'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about" Ananas informed.

The group in the abandoned house was waiting for Celia to return from the Creme Brulee inn. It was time for breakfast, and Graham had told them to send the girl to pick up some food whenever they got a chance. Ananas had called, and Patta had taken the chance to assure her they all were alright and to ask if Mahiru was okay.

Thankfully she was. She was going to be under observation for the day, but she'd be okay. Now the priority was going to be to take Asriel to Ciruel's house before the Youth Troop managed to get their hands on Asriel. The monster insisted he wanted to meet Ciruel, and despite Patta's reluctance at the end they had yielded.

"I have to go, it's time to work. I'll be away of the city for a couple days. Take care, all of you" she said, the sound of plane engines in the background. She had been pretty much the quickest way to get to the mountain and by now she was not an option anymore. They were alone on that regard. Patta passed the cellphone to Asriel, who received a few encouragement words, and hanged up.

"I'm back!" Celia shouted from the foyer. She had brought several plastic containers filled with food and a plastic bag with something inside. She distributed the food and gave the bag to Patta "This is for you, from Graham. I think there are letters inside"

Patta took out the biggest object inside the bag. It was an apron. "...he sent me an apron. I'm not sure if this will be useful at all but it is okay"

Frisk was too busy devouring their portion of the breakfast, so Asriel took the bag to take the letters. "Here is yours, Patta!" he passed it to Patta and settled to read what Graham had to say to _him._

 _Asriel._

 _It's likely we won't ever see each other again, but that is okay. It was nice to meet you and I wish you the best of luck in returning home._

 _I have decided to give a try to believing the best of humanity again. It won't be easy but talking to you and Frisk reminded me that humans can be good, despite everything. If you two can believe that then why can't I? You two have more reasons than anyone else to resent people but I didn't see any resentment in any of you!_

Asriel frowned. If only Graham knew how Frisk felt about humans...

 _Stay close to Patta and don't let anyone take you away of them. Frisk should be able to take you two to Ciruel's manor._

 _Take care._

 _Graham._

"Patta, do you think people can change?" Asriel asked.

"With the right incentive I think even the worst person can change for the better. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing" It was strange, but Asriel was starting to understand the kind of effect he had on the humans he had met so far. It was all a matter of giving them a reason to change. Asriel had his own way to see the world, or to get close to people, or to at least allow people to vent. All that, or a combination of all things, was what had encouraged Ananas and Graham to change. Celia, while she hadn't outright said she was going to change something in herself, was going to be able to have a new life.

What had Patta said the day before? "You're a good kid, Asriel. You have a way to influence people and make them feel like they are valuable, like there's a reason to continue living on". That was it!

Asriel smiled. Something he admired from his father was how practically everyone in the Kingdom of Monsters loved him. Maybe, when Asriel officially turned into the king, he'd be the same. This was at least a good sign, in his opinion.

Asriel felt like he understood not only humans but also everything in general better than before.

Patta's letter was tangentially related to Asriel's. They weren't completely sure why Graham had given them an apron, but apparently there had been a reason for that, even if it hadn't been practical.

 _Patta._

 _You have a big responsibility now; you know it, don't you? I trust Asriel and Frisk will be safe with you. Once your journey is over I wouldn't mind if you come by the inn again, even if it is to say goodbye before you fly back home too._

 _You'll be the first person I decide to believe in. You already showed a bad side of yours and I could see you regretted it dearly. I can respect that. It is just I believe you can be a good person._

 _As token of my belief on you I'm sending an apron with the food. It is cheesy and frankly it's okay if you lock it away in a drawer. It's just a gift._

 _Prove humans can be good._

 _Frisk should be able to take you two to Ciruel's manor. Take care._

 _Graham._

Patta folded the letter and put it away. So they now were the person with the responsibility to restore Graham's belief in humanity. They had no idea how to do that; they would talk that with hi once Asriel had been taken to the Underground. Patta took the apron, extending it in front of them. It was a normal apron, with the cliché words about kissing the cook. "Graham, you dork" they murmured, but they had to admit they felt happy about all this.

"I want to see it!" Asriel bolted to Patta's side, giggling when he read the words. "Kiss the cook?" Frisk laughed, approaching to see it too.

"It's some kind of joke some people put on aprons. I never understood it very well" Patta passed the apron to Celia, who put it in the borrowed knapsack for possible future use.

 **Cooking Apron +11 DEF**

 _A reminder somebody trusts you. Heals 1 HP every other turn_

"So, what's the plan today?" Celia asked with her mouth full.

"Graham said Ciruel would be home at noon today. How far is Ciruel's house, Frisk?" Patta inquired. Frisk gestured something that Patta interpreted as 'kinda far' "We should leave in a couple hours. With some luck we'll get there without any trouble"

That seemed like a sensible enough plan, although Asriel had a question. "Why don't we take a cab to that house?"

"Hm" Patta left the empty container aside, mulling what to say. They had thought about it already but there was something they weren't planning to tell Asriel yet. Once again they had felt like there was no more option than doing something that could mean harder times. Who in their right minds would walk instead of taking a cab?

They would. That's what their memories told them was the right thing to do. "We can't stay here for long; the Youth Troop could find this house. Taking a cab would mean arriving way too early to Ciruel's house. We can't go to the inn and there's no place where we can hide. Walking is pretty much the only option"

Frisk stared at Patta, the adult felt like Frisk was sensing there was something they weren't telling them. Fortunately Asriel wasn't as discerning as Frisk, he merely nodded. Frisk shook their head but didn't try to get Patta to talk.

-ooooo-

The wristwatch said it was 10:00 AM. It was time to leave. Celia was once again hugging Asriel and Frisk tearfully, repeating over and over to take care and not let anyone stop them. She had gotten pretty attached to the goat monster, although she understood he couldn't stay over the surface.

"Don't let Frisk or Patta go missing, please" she whispered to Asriel when she had the chance.

Patta stood outside, looking at the sky. It was a very cloudy day; gray clouds covered the sky without leaving a single blue spot. "I think it's going to rain" Patta said, feeling the cold weather "That should make it easier to take you around, Asriel. The raincoat will look like something normal to have in a day like this"

"I have never been under the rain before" Asriel said, exiting the abandoned house with Frisk. Frisk waved cheerfully, as if to indicate they were ready.

"I like rainy days, but usually because it's a great excuse to stay indoors. With some luck we'll get to Ciruel's house before it rains"

Frisk sniggered. "Rain isn't so bad"

"It is when you have to walk to the other side of the city" The group left the abandoned house terrain, leaving through the alleyway. They had decided that was the best path to leave, as it was possible the Youth Troop was keeping an eye around the inn. Frisk had said they'd be able to take them through an alternative path, and that it'd take them around an hour to arrive to Ciruel's house.

The more they walked the clearer it was that Frisk did indeed know the city like the back of their hand. They moved without hesitation, looking at the buildings with critical eye and deciding the best path almost immediately. Sometimes they pointed some interesting places, as if Patta and Asriel were no more than tourists having an idle time around the city. "This is the fire department. I once rode in one of the fire trucks" they said, pointing at a large building.

"I'd like to ride one someday!" Asriel said, inching closer to peek at the fire trucks in the open garage. A couple firemen greeted Frisk and invited them to come in, which of course they rejected.

Just like Patta had said, twenty minutes after they left the abandoned house it started to rain. It was no more than a drizzle but the wind was cold. Patta, being the only one without fur or warm clothes, was forced to put on the apron. The few people who were on the streets all looked at Patta with curiosity, none of them really daring to ask why they were walking with an apron on a day like this.

That was fine. At least it kept the attention all on them and not on Asriel. It was a necessary sacrifice, although Patta felt a bit nervous under everyone's glances.

"This is the center of the city" Frisk said, pointing at a park in the distance. Once they crossed the street and entered the park they stopped to admire the beautiful place. It was obvious the city administration greatly cared about the park.

Trees, bushes and rows flowers of different colors covered the grass around the stone paths. All the paths led to an active fountain placed in the exact center of the park, and around the fountain there was a small expanse of golden flowers. "What are these?" Asriel asked, leaning to take a better look at them.

"I don't know. All I know about flowers are tulips, sunflowers and roses. I can at least guarantee these are not any of those" Patta said.

"I think these are buttercups" Frisk said but they weren't sure. These golden flowers were quite larger than buttercups. It wasn't like the name was important, though. Asriel crouched and took a few.

"I should take a few of these for Dad. He likes gardening"

"I think what you need are seeds, not flowers" Patta said, looking around. A feeling of dread was starting to take over them; they felt like somebody was observing them. There didn't seem to be anyone out, most likely due to the drizzle, but the feeling of being watched didn't go away. "Eh, I think we should get going. I have a bad feeling..."

"You feel it too?" Frisk returned to Patta, looking around too.

"Yeah. Asriel, leave those and let's go" Asriel was trying to take several flowers, humming to himself. "Asriel!"

"Eh?" the monster jumped in surprise, almost dropping the flowers. The noise of the fountain drowned their voices, but that didn't stop them from being discovered. Patta and Frisk had barely taken a few steps towards the other side of the fountain when they saw why they felt like they were being watched.

Cohen and Cam were standing at the end of the park, looking straight at them.

"Yo" Cohen said "You didn't think you would get away so easily, did you?"

Patta froze. Part of them wanted to look towards where Asriel was, at least to check if the fountain was enough to hide him. With some luck the teenagers wouldn't notice Asriel's presence but that was unlikely.

Frisk wasn't anywhere to be seen, either. At some point they had gotten away from Patta, leaving them standing in front of the fountain. Patta was alone against Cohen and Cam and by the looks of it the two members of the Youth Troop weren't going to stay there. Sooner or later they'd find Asriel, as there was no hiding place nearby. It wasn't like Asriel could run towards the trees, they'd notice him.

All in all, they were all in trouble. Again. "...damn it" Patta muttered.


	16. Monsters are Humanity's Sideshow Freaks

Nobody cared about the drizzle. Neither Cohen, Cam or Patta seemed to be bothered by it in any way. The three humans glared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

After a minute or so the two teenagers finally moved. "Youth Troop, Fifth Division members, always walking forward!" Cohen exclaimed.

"The future awaits" Cam said without much enthusiasm. To Patta it seemed like he would rather to be anywhere else.

"We're here today to pave our way, etc"

Patta groaned, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, it's you guys. What do you want? Why are you here? Did you stand there all this time waiting for me to come by?"

"Something like that. Cohen thought it'd be dramatic" Cam smirked. Cohen, looking as if Cam had just revealed embarrassing pictures of his friend as a baby, punched him in the arm.

"You can't tell that kind of things to the foes, Cam!"

"Whatever. Can I go home now?"

"No. This guy has the monster and that's what we're here for" Cohen stepped forward "Where is it?"

Patta tried their best to look like they weren't worried at all. "Again with that...there's no monster! I'm just a tourist in the city"

"Who cares about your supposed monster, Cohen? If you're going to ask something then ask them why they almost killed Mahiru" Cam said, glaring daggers at Patta. The adult gulped but held the gaze, trying to convey as much sincerity as they could.

"I did nothing to her. She fell down on the street and hit her head, all I did was get somebody to take her to the hospital. You can't blame me for that!"

Frisk could barely hear all that conversation. The noise of the fountain dampened the voices, making all sound like barely unintelligible noise. Asriel _could_ distinguish the words but didn't pay attention; he was too busy trying to stay out of sight behind the fountain. Asriel stayed behind the main pillar of the fountain, covering his eyes and trying to ignore the possibility of the teenagers coming to get him. Frisk, who had run back to the fountain as soon as they noticed Cam and Cohen, peeked from behind the base, keeping an eye on everyone. "Are they coming?" Asriel asked.

"No, they are just...talking. They aren't trying to come here at all" Frisk replied.

"So Patta is keeping them away!"

"There's something strange going on. Why aren't they trying to get here? They are just talking and talking and..." Frisk frowned. They felt there was something wrong, like Cohen was playing Patta for a fool. But all he was doing was standing there, as if... "Azzy, I think we-"

"Well, hello there!" a new voice said from nearby.

Asriel almost fell into the fountain, yelping from the surprise. Frisk turned around immediately, their face turning into an expression of horror. So this was what Cohen had been planning! Get Patta away from Asriel, stall and distract them until somebody else could approach to the monster and capture it. It was so simple, how didn't they see it coming?

Selby was standing there, smiling wearily. Asriel snapped first from the stupor of being seen so easily, immediately huddling into the raincoat "Nice try, monster. It's too late for that"

-ooooo-

The more they talked the less Patta understood. Cam had touched the topic of Mahiru, but as soon as Patta explained she had fallen down the teenagers had changed topics as if it didn't matter that much. What really got Patta worried was that Cohen and Cam were satisfied bantering and arguing with them, without even trying to move aside to try to get to Asriel.

A part of Patta still wanted to look towards the fountain, just to make sure Asriel was still okay, but in their opinion that would be the same than confirming the monster was there. All Patta could do was hope their paranoia wasn't correct.

After all, weren't there four members in the Youth Troop division they had met at the inn the day before? Mahiru not being here was understandable, but where was the other guy?

"...got him!"

Patta immediately turned around when they heard that voice. Selby was running towards them, holding a struggling child in a raincoat. "No!" Patta shouted, stepping to stop Selby, but that was exactly what Cohen and Cam were waiting for.

As soon as Patta turned their back around Cam dashed forward, tackling them to the wet ground. The impact against the stone path left them winded, and Cam, strong teenager he was, held Patta down onto the path. Patta struggled, trying to get free from Cam's holding, but the teenager was relentless, throwing himself over Patta's back and not letting them move not even an inch towards Selby.

Patta wasn't the only one trying hard to escape. The child in the raincoat, whom Patta knew could only be Asriel, was struggling with all his forces, kicking and trying to punch Selby, but he restrained Asriel further, suppressing his movements. Strange noises, sounding like a mix between bleating and growling, emanated from the child while he tried to get away.

"Well done! Bring him here, quick, yo!" Cohen took out his cellphone, aiming towards the child "I'm ready"

"Sto-agh!" as soon as Patta tried to shout at Cohen to stop Cam pressed them into the ground, cutting their demand short. All they could do is glance at how Selby approached Cohen with the prize, grinning deviously.

Cohen carefully aimed to where Asriel's face would be and signaled Selby to do it. Selby grabbed the hoodie of the raincoat despite Asriel's struggling and yanked it off, revealing the child's head. The flash of the cellphone camera went off, blinding the child.

All the Youth Troop got for their efforts was a bad photo of Frisk.

"What?!" Cohen and Patta shouted at the same time. Patta had been completely sure the child had been Asriel, he was supposed to be the one in the raincoat! Once the surprise passed Patta sighed, relieved. Asriel was safe, even if it was for a while. Chances were the Youth Troop would try again later, so the moment of calm would not last very long.

"Selby, you idiot! What's this?" Cohen yelled, putting the cellphone away.

"I'm the monster! Graaaaawr!" Frisk bared their teeth and growled, still struggling.

"Shut up, Frisk"

"I-I don't know, Cohen" Selby left Frisk on the floor, looking boggled, as if not even he understood what happened "You told me to pick up the kid in the raincoat, and it was Frisk. It's not my fault"

"But we all saw it, right? We saw the tourist walking with the monster in a raincoat; we can't have gotten it wrong"

While Selby and Cohen argued about whose fault it was they had captured Frisk instead of the monster Patta noticed Cam hadn't even tried to get in the argument. He seemed thoughtful, looking at Patta with suspicion. "Um, can I stand up now?"

Cam didn't reply but got off Patta's back, letting them stand up. Patta tried to remove the dirt on their clothes without much success, grumbling about how the Youth Troop didn't know what they were doing. "I keep telling you all there's no monster, damn it"

"I think we're wasting our time. I'd rather to leave. You and Cam can deal with this by yourselves, I'll go visit Mahiru" Selby adjusted his glasses with disdain "Please don't talk to me about monsters again" and without waiting for Cohen's reply he walked away, not even looking back. Cohen watched him go, confused. He hadn't expected two of his friends to leave him, the hunt for the monster hadn't gone at all like he had planned.

Cohen scratched the back of his head, ashamed. "Let's go, Cam. Maybe he's right and we're wasting our time. I don't get how we could get this wrong..."

"Don't ask me" Cam murmured, still looking at Patta as if he thought the adult had planned all this. The two teenagers left the park, trying to infer how their plan had gone wrong. Patta waited until the teenagers were far away and then went to Frisk's side, helping them to stand up.

"Frisk, that was clever of you! Well done" they congratulated Frisk, admiring the kid's quick thinking. It must have taken just a few seconds between the Youth Troop arriving and Selby grabbing them! If Frisk hadn't been there perhaps this would have ended differently.

Frisk wasn't in a hurry to take the credit, instead they pointed towards the fountain. "He's there"

Asriel wasn't inside the fountain. He was lying flat in middle of the golden flower, covering his head with his arms the best he could. While the green sweater helped, anyone who stared at the flowers for a few seconds would realize there was something odd among the flowers. Patta carefully took Asriel from the scruff of his neck, lifting him in the air "We got saved by the skin of our teeth, you know!"

"I know!" Asriel smiled nervously, looking around as if he expected Cohen to jump from behind the fountain to ambush everyone "That was way too close"

Patta, feeling carefree after such a close brush with Asriel being found out for the second time in less than one day, laughed and left Asriel standing on the ground. Tangled in Asriel's fur there were a lot of seeds, most likely from the golden flowers. Patta tried to take a few away but they were sticking very well to the monster's hide, so they gave up. "Seriously, Frisk, you saved us. Thank you" they said.

"It wasn't me" Frisk replied. That got Patta to straighten up and look at Frisk with concern.

"Then was it Asriel?"

"Actually, it was me" that voice came from behind them.

Selby had returned, staring at them with calm smugness "You three owe me, big time. I'm here to claim my part of the deal"

"What deal? What did you two promise?"

Asriel fiddled with his ears, looking at the flowers. This wasn't his proudest moment but what else should he have done at the time? "A photo. He wants a photo of me"

"What?!" Patta paced back and forth in front of the fountain, feeling confused and angry at the same time "Asriel, that is exactly what that Cohen wants. This is practically the same as if you had let him capture you!"

"Actually, it's not the same. Cohen wants a photo to show it to everyone, I only want a photo to keep it for myself" Selby said as diplomatically as he could, holding his cellphone up "There's no choice. If I don't have a photo then I'll just have to call Cohen and tell him I know where the monster is"

A tense silence fell on the park. Patta, Asriel and Frisk huddled together, as if staying close to each other could protect them against the situation Selby had put them in. Either they accepted Selby's demand, which would mean risking somebody having what Patta considered 'decisive evidence' of Asriel's existence, or they could reject it and try to run away, which would mean having Cohen back onto their trail and even worse, now that Selby knew exactly how Asriel looked like and in what direction they'd all go.

"We can't back down" Frisk whispered. As much as Patta hated to admit it, it seemed like that was the only option.

"I suppose that is correct. Let's hope it will be over quickly"

Selby waited patiently until Asriel, with visible hesitation and looking at the floor in shame, approached. The teenager grinned and prepared his cellphone but didn't aim towards Asriel. "Hey, Frisk. Come here and take the photo" he requested, throwing it towards Frisk. Frisk caught it without saying a word and got ready to take the photo.

Asriel stood to Selby's side but that wasn't enough for the teenager. He grabbed Asriel and pulled him uncomfortable close to him, almost like a chokehold and grinning with great joy. Frisk took the photo, frowning with clear unease. Patta approached to see the photo.

It was a clear image of how reprehensible and almost despicable Selby's demand was. There was Selby, crouching so he was at Asriel's height, grinning and doing a peace gesture as if this were no more than a photo to commemorate a nice day in the amusement park. To his side and secured to Selby's side was Asriel. The monster, covered in mud due to lying among the flowers and with seeds tangled in his fur, had an expression that showed without a doubt he would rather to be away from Selby. Asriel looked outright _miserable_.

Patta felt a visceral hate towards Selby and he wasn't alone on that feeling. Selby let Asriel go and got his phone back, looking at the photo with unbridled happiness. "Yes, that is what I was talking about! Thank you, thank you!" he raised his head and finally noticed Frisk, Patta and Asriel looking at him with an intense disgust, almost with hate.

"Good. Now scram. Remember, don't say a single word to anybody and don't show that photo to anyone" Patta said, resentment seething in their voice.

"I-I won't. I just w-wanted to-"

"Go away!" Patta yelled. Selby immediately ran away, clutching his cellphone like it was his most precious possession. Once he was far away Patta let out the breath they hadn't realized they had been holding and put their hand on Asriel's shoulder.

Asriel had his eyes full of tears. He felt greatly humiliated, and for the first time since he had been on the surface he felt strong dislike towards someone. "I'm sorry for not doing something, Patta..." he apologized. As he saw it, if he had done something or defended himself better then Selby wouldn't have managed to get the upper hand.

"What happened? How did we get to this?" Patta inquired. They made sure not to sound like they were blaming Asriel or Frisk; instead they tried to sound patient and understanding.

"He found us. I tried to hide in my raincoat but it was too late. He then said that because I was a child he wouldn't take us...as long as I followed his condition"

"The photo"

"Yes...golly, I wanted to say no and try to scare him with fire magic, but-"

"But I stopped him" Frisk intervened. They looked like they regretted having stopped him "If he had done that it would have attracted attention"

"I see. Sounds kind of logical to me" Patta conceded. While to be frank they would have preferred Asriel and Frisk to have taken the risk it was too late to think too much about that "I'm not blaming you two. The only one to blame is him. Let's forget this and continue ahead, okay?"

Asriel and Frisk nodded wordlessly. The whole ordeal had left both children greatly discouraged. Frisk gave Asriel the raincoat. After taking the apron off – Patta being thrown onto the ground had left it pretty dirty - Patta gave a few encouraging words to the children. "Now let's go. We still need to get to Ciruel's house".

The drizzle turned into rain.

* * *

 _I know very well what pissed me off about Selby. I don't think Asriel or Frisk noticed it, but I did see and realized what Selby was feeling in that moment._

 _To him Asriel was no more than a novelty, a curiosity he found. He didn't see Asriel as a person; he was no more than something he wanted to see and have close for enough time to be able to say he did. In his eyes Asriel was no better than...a sideshow freak._

 _Chances are many humans would think of monsters in the same way Selby did. Heck, he isn't the only one who didn't consider Asriel a person! Mahiru, that teenage girl, I noticed too. Until she met Asriel to her a monster wasn't really been somebody she'd treat as a peer. Maybe if she didn't have the head wound or be vulnerable at all then maybe she would have reacted differently._

 _Until the day before Asriel had met some people that, although they had their flaws and didn't mesh swimmingly with Asriel at first, at least treated him like a friend, like he was no different to a human. Now he was seeing other sides of humanity: those who wouldn't accept monsters as peers so easily._

 _It would get worse from there, but neither Asriel, Frisk nor I hold any resentment towards humanity. After all...despite all the flaws, humanity is good._

* * *

-ooooo-

"Cheer up, Cohen" Cam said. They were sitting in a porch, waiting for the rain to stop. Since Cohen had to accept the possibility the monster didn't exist he was quite downcast.

"I thought we were going to achieve something great, that we would change the future. Nothing is going to change, is it?" he said, disheartened.

"We don't need a monster to be able to change the future"

"You don't get it; this was a huge chance to create something new, something different! If monsters were to exist up here we would all be better than before..."

Cam pinched the bridge of his nose. Seeing Cohen brooding around was not his idea of a fun time. "Cohen, I hate to see you so sad, so I'll have to leave aside my dislike of monsters and help you for one last time"

"Why do you dislike monsters so much?" Cohen asked. Cam shrugged and stared at the rain.

"I think monsters are not the wonderful beings you think they are. If humans threw them into a dark cavern out there it must have been because they are dangerous. I'd rather them to stay underground forever if it means we'll all be safe from monsters"

"And what if that is wrong?"

"Who gives a damn. I personally don't want to risk it" Cam said "Fine, let me tell you something: I think that tourist guy really is hiding the monster"

"Why do you think that?" Cohen latched to that feeble hope with all his strength. If it meant not having to abandon his goal then he was going to hold onto it for as long as he could.

"They seemed pretty surprised when they saw Frisk in the raincoat. I think the monster really was wearing that before but it saw Selby coming and changed clothes with Frisk"

"Then it is not all over yet! The monster exists!" Cohen pumped his fists, his usual panache returning "We can still do it!"

"Yeah, how diddly-darn happy. We will have to continue meddling with monsters. Yay" Cam grimaced but got ready to step outside to the rain "I'll tell you what. You stay here; I'll bring that thing to you"

"That thing?"

"The monster. I'll bring it, you do whatever you want with it, and it'll be all my involvement in your mess. From there on I don't want to have anything to do with monsters. Did you understand that?" Cam's tone left no doubts he was dead serious about this. He was pretty fed up but he was willing to leave aside his distaste for monsters if it meant giving Cohen a moment of joy. "Wait here"

"Cam, yo, thank you!" Cohen said, excited "How are you going to find them in the rain?"

"The Youth Troop has eyes over the entire city. With so many members and ex-members it's impossible we'll miss them. Leave it all up to me" Cam replied. Cohen flashed a thumbs up and reclined on the wall of the porch to wait. Cam smiled warily and walked away, ready to get in contact with people in the nearby areas of the part in the center of the city.

The rain turned into downpour.

-ooooo-

Some children have the amazing ability to not to let something drag them down. The more cheerful those children's personality is, the easier it is for them to leave something behind. That's not to say they forget, but it's more like they choose to leave it aside for the time being and try to go back to being happy.

Asriel was that kind of child. While he stayed ashamed for quite a while – and the emotional pain of the humiliation stung into his heart – he had two people who tried to help him get past that. Patta took Frisk and Asriel by the hands for a while until they felt the children were composed enough to be let go.

After a while the children went back to their usual playful behavior. Patta smiled while the children splashed in the puddles the group found in the way. The streets were mercifully empty, not many people went outside in middle of the rain and Frisk was taking great care on taking them through areas where people didn't tend to roam in. They were all thankful for Frisk's thoughtfulness, and Patta, feeling a bit more relaxed, was content to be aside and let them play.

Patta and Frisk were soaked to the bone, though, although Frisk was worse than the adult. Sweaters made for cold weather don't mix that well with water, Patta was sure that if he grabbed Frisk from the torso the child's sweater would have the consistency of a wet sponge.

Unfortunately the children's playtime while they walked had to be cut short when the rain increased in intensity. "Guys, come back here" Patta had to say loudly. The noise of the rain was quite strong. The children obeyed, getting close to Patta, and the three of them started to brave through the downpour.

With each minute it turned more and more difficult. "Can you two see anything?" Patta asked, narrowing their eyes. The water was like a curtain, and Patta could swear there was starting to be fog around. They couldn't see further than a couple feet in front of them.

"It's raining too much! This is like Waterfall"

"Waterfall?"

"There are areas in Waterfall where you have to pass under cascades. It's not much different to this" Asriel explained. He was exaggerating, though; no place in Waterfall had such a large quantity of water falling directly on travelers. Rain was once another new experience for him and to be frank he wasn't sure he would like it very much if he didn't have the raincoat on. Having waterlogged fur was no pleasant experience; if he absolutely had to he definitely preferred it to be from a bath or from swimming and not from being caught in the rain.

"I'm cold, Patta" Frisk said, shivering "I think we should stop"

"...yeah, we can barely see. Trying to cross streets could be very dangerous. We should look for a place to wait for the rain to fade away" Patta decided, grabbed Asriel and Frisk's hands and looked around. They were standing on the sidewalk of a part of the city Patta had no idea where it was, as expected. All Patta could see was the door of a house to their side, that was all they could see. Frisk and Asriel didn't fare much better than that. "Let's be careful. With some luck we can find a relatively empty cafeteria or something"

Staying under a roof for a while sounded like a wonderful idea, receiving unanimous support. All Patta hoped was that the place they found nearby didn't have a lot of people or asked Asriel to take off the raincoat, or it could be preferable to wait outside.

The group managed to find the corner of the block and, just like they planned, they didn't cross. It seemed like their luck was not very good, as all places they found in the block were houses. There was not a single place to stay in not even for a moment.

"Guys" Asriel said, suddenly stopping. Patta felt him pull from their hand, getting them to stop "Did you hear that?"

"...I can't seem to hear anything beyond the rain" Patta replied. Frisk didn't seem to know better, either, a look of confusion gracing their face.

"Somebody is coming towards here, very quickly" Asriel started to run without warning, letting go from Patta's hand. Reacting quickly Patta and Frisk ran behind him. Neither of them could hear what had spooked Asriel, but there was not really time to stand around and discuss that.

"Asriel, wait!" Patta shouted. Asriel stopped, but he was clearly anxious. The way he was gritting his teeth and wanting to keep running was obvious enough "We're going to have to take a risk" The three of them crossed the street, praying no cars were going to appear out of nowhere.

It seemed like the rain increased in intensity. The day started to turn dark, even if the time was closer to noon than sunset. The more they ran, the more scared and disoriented Patta felt. They were starting to hear steps, splashing, was that thunder in the distance? Frisk and Asriel's hands had slipped from theirs long ago, and the rain was so thick they couldn't even see around themselves to check if the children were nearby. "Asriel! Frisk!" they screamed, not caring this could give away their presence to any pursuers or bystanders. All they cared about was that the children replied.

There was no answer.

In a moment of panic Patta's feet slipped and they fell on the floor, their clothes getting even more soaked than before, somehow. They felt like they were sinking in a river, and all they could hear was water and more water. Realistically they were just lying on a large puddle in middle of the street, but the environment around them was so confusing their senses were starting to get mixed up and mislead them.

To their right the rain seemed to be a tad darker. Patta crawled towards there, finding what seemed to be a domed passageway towards a mall. It was a dry place to be in; Patta went in there as quickly as they could. There were people around, waiting for the downpour to weaken down.

"Are you okay?" a woman asked when Patta came in. Patta nodded frantically, standing up and shaking their hair free of water. There was no time to relax; the two children under their responsibility were not with them!

"Frisk! Asriel! Over here!" Patta shouted as loudly as they could into the downpour. They really hoped the loudness of their voice would get through the cacophony outside. "Can you hear me?! Follow my voice!"

"Excuse me, did you lose somebody?" a man inquired.

"I was with two children and we got separated when it started to rain like this. I really have to find them"

"That's going to be a problem! Nobody dares to go out there right now"

"Asriel! Frisk! Follow my voice!" Patta yelled. None of the people taking refuge in the passageway protested, all of them understood Patta's worry over the loss of two children. A few of those bystanders joined in shouting, following Patta's example.

Around five minutes after Patta arrived to the domed passageway a small figure ran towards it, attracted by the voices shouting their name. It was Frisk. "Frisk! Over here!" Frisk practically threw themselves on Patta's legs, panting and trying to regain their breath.

"...I have been looking for you..." they wheezed once they had enough strength.

"Where is Asriel?"

"I don't know! We got separated. I don't know where he is!" there was a great deal of anxiousness and fear in Frisk's voice. Patta felt like something rock heavy settled into their gut. Asriel, that particularly vulnerable monster in the world of humans, was lost somewhere.

"No. I can't just stand here anymore. I'm going out" Patta said. Before they could tell Frisk to wait the child said with remarkable determination:

"I'll go with you"

"Take my hand and don't let go for any reason" Patta ordered. Thankfully by the time Frisk and Patta left the domed passageway the downpour was starting to slowly downgrade back into mere rain, but that didn't change the fact Asriel was missing.

'Asriel, be okay, please...' that single phrase was repeating over and over in Patta's mind.


	17. Morning Downpour

Asriel hadn't realized he had panicked until it was too late.

He had just been walking along with Patta and Frisk when he heard something like a splash, coming from several feet behind them. Asriel's sense of hearing was kind of weird. It was nothing to write home about, but he had a sensibility for sounds with low volumes. That had always baffled him.

The noise of the downpour around him was quite strong, but even under all that, he heard the steps of somebody approaching, somebody with a lot of hurry. He could hear it clearly in middle of the rain, coming closer and closer. At first he tried to not to pay much attention to that, but the stronger and closer it sounded the more restless he felt. "Guys, did you hear that?" Asriel pulled from Patta's hand. If he wanted to get Patta or Frisk to listen, then it was better they put their whole attention to that.

His human companions stopped and listened. "I can't seem to hear anything beyond the rain" Asriel peered towards the direction they had come from, the steps and the splash were getting too close. In a hurry he looked at Frisk, hoping they at least could hear something, but their expression made it clear they had no idea what Asriel was talking about.

"Somebody is coming towards here, very quickly" he said, trying not to alert the pursuer, but he couldn't resist anymore. Asriel started running.

He could hear Patta and Frisk following him, but what scared him the most was that, behind the noise of his friends' steps, he heard the pursuer starting to run too. He had no idea how whoever was following them had seen the group in middle of the storm, but there was no time to wonder that.

It didn't take long before Patta made them cross the street. The three of them ran as fast as possible, but the rain was way too strong. In a moment Asriel's eyes were hit by drops of water. He stumbled blindly for a moment, reaching the walls of the buildings, and trying to clear his eyes enough. It took only a few seconds, but that was enough.

He couldn't hear Patta or Frisk. He couldn't hear the pursuer either. There was nobody nearby, judging by how there was not a single splash or step, at least from what he could hear. "Patta?! Frisk?!" he shouted, stealth be damned. He didn't care if that could make whoever was following him find his exact location, all he wanted was to know where his friends were.

There was no answer.

Asriel gripped his chest, trying to calm himself down. He could feel his heart practically trying to escape his chest, a mix of his fear and adrenaline from running around. "Calm down, Asriel, it will all be okay. All you need to do is find them! T-They can't have gone too far. E-E-Everything will be alright" he whispered to himself, the sound of his own voice helping to calm down at least enough to dare to walk in middle of the storm. Thankful he had that huge raincoat in case he encountered any human, he started walking, gripping the plastic material and trying to keep the water off his face.

Just like Patta had suggested he didn't dare to cross the streets. Although he couldn't see any cars he would at least be able to hear them coming, but the fear of getting struck by one was too strong to really try to cross the street. He stopped, trying to decide if maybe Patta and Frisk had run to the other side of the streets.

That's when the steps returned.

They were methodical, careful, like whoever was approaching knew exactly what they were doing. Somehow they had managed to follow and reach him, even in middle of the storm. It didn't take long for Asriel to realize whoever was coming couldn't be Patta or Frisk. He was convinced his human friends would be calling for him, running around, not walking slowly and without a word.

Asriel took deep breaths, flexing his fingers, and prepared himself, tiny embers forming in his palms. He hoped the situation wouldn't get so bad he'd be forced to defend himself, but at the first sign of an attack he would at least be ready to defend himself. He stepped back, peering towards the direction the steps were coming from.

The steps stopped as suddenly as they had appeared.

Asriel stood still, trying to listen. All he could hear was the noise of the storm around him, the rushing of the water and a myriad of small sounds he couldn't even begin to guess what they were. Just in case he kept the fireballs in his hand, making them as warm as he could without burning himself. It was good to know he had enough magic skills to do that, and the warmth in his hands was encouraging in some way.

He looked around; examining the area of the city he was in. As expected, nothing seemed familiar. This resembled one of Ananas' scenarios from the day before; it was a good time as any to put that on practice. He would look for something that he and his friends had already been in, and hope they would think of finding him there. Frisk knew about that possible plan, after all! There were good chances that would work.

Asriel had been so focused on trying to think of a plan he didn't notice the teenager approaching from behind until a hand clamped his mouth and muzzle, pressing it with painful force. Before he could even react he was lifted in the air, the human who had grabbed him had started running, holding Asriel with ease. Cam managed to hold him in a way both of Asriel's arms were immobilized, and although his legs were free and kicking, hitting the teenager a few times, Cam didn't seem to care at all. "Stop that!" Cam growled, pressing Asriel's snout harder "Don't fight and everything will be okay"

Asriel tried to reply, mostly to beg to be let go, but all his words were muffled by Cam's hand. Talking was not an option, running away was not an option, and if this continued in this manner then soon he'd be with Cohen. Asriel wasn't sure what Cohen was going to do but he was convinced it couldn't be any good, especially because Patta had gone through a lot of trouble just to keep Asriel away of Cohen. He wasn't going to try to hurt Cam, though, it was true Cam was being excessively rough but he wasn't in _deadly_ danger.

Ananas had convinced Asriel defending himself against attackers was good, even if humans could be rather fragile against magic attacks, but he wasn't going to attack unless there was a good reason for that. For that purpose he tried his best to make as many fireballs as possible, lightening up the sidewalk with rows and rows of fire. The flames weren't even bigger than Cam's head but that may have been enough to deter him. Cam slowed down, turning his head to see the fire all around him. "What are you doing?!"

Even if he had wanted to answer he couldn't have. He focused and moved the fire closer and closer, wanting to make Cam think if he didn't let Asriel go then the consequences could be rather painful. Cam started to sweat while the fire formed a ring all around him, and his ochre colored SOUL flared in his chest. It was not a FIGHT but Asriel could notice Cam was subconsciously drawing strength from it.

* * *

 _I don't know that much about SOULs but I think Cam's SOUL's main trait was Willpower._

 _Perseverance is continuing towards a goal even if one's heart isn't into it. Determination is getting to a goal while believing in it. Willpower is different from those two. Does that even make sense?_

* * *

Gritting his teeth, Cam grabbed Asriel even tighter and jumped into the fire. Asriel didn't even have time to make the fireballs cooler; he could feel the heat on his fur while Cam ran through the magic flames, enduring the damage in his SOUL without a single complaint. Not even a literal wall of fire had dissuaded Cam; his Willpower was so strong he refused to stop.

Since using his magic hadn't been enough, even if Cam had gotten hurt over that, Asriel quickly thought of alternative solutions. He had no idea how long he had before Cam reached Cohen, wherever the later was, so he did the only other action he could think to get Cam to let him go.

Asriel shook his head, managing to get Cam's hand off his snout, and when the teenager tried to grab the monster's face again Asriel opened his maw and bit down on Cam's hand.

That worked. Cam screamed in pain and dropped Asriel, grabbing his bitten hand. Asriel had apparently bit strongly enough to draw blood, leaving several jagged wounds on the skin, a product of the bite and from Cam retiring his hand too quickly. That had been enough to discourage Cam completely, as he was too busy groaning in pain to even try to catch Asriel again. The monster didn't move, though. "Are you okay?" Asriel asked and tried to approach but Cam pushed him back, almost making the monster fall onto the wet pavement.

"Stay away of me!" Cam roared and ran away, clutching his wounded hand.

* * *

 _That is the difference. Willpower can be broken because the person who embodies it needs to actually want to achieve something. Getting bitten got Cam fed up, so he ran away._

* * *

Asriel watched the teenager flee, and with his fingers he tried to get the taste of blood off his tongue. It was certainly one of the nastiest tastes he had ever experienced. "Golly, my teeth are sharper than I thought…" he mumbled, making sure the hood of his raincoat was secured over his head before running away too. While he felt a bit guilty from having caused such bodily harm to Cam, the thought of what could have happened if he hadn't done that greatly diminished that guilt.

He still hoped Cam's hand would be fine, though.

-ooooo-

Cohen watched the storm. It was starting to diminish; thankfully heavy downpour never lasted for too long in this city. He hoped to see Cam approaching at some point, bringing the monster. Cohen even had his cellphone prepared to get done with the matter at hand as soon as possible.

He had already tried to call Selby to apologize for his behavior, but Selby had shown to be pretty reticent to accept the apology, saying that as long as this monster matter existed Cohen wouldn't return to be the friendly and lovable Cohen they all knew. Mahiru was still in the hospital and Cohen hadn't been able to talk to her, but Selby had said it was expected she'd be leaving to her home in a matter of hours.

Cohen's cellphone started ringing. A peek to the number on the screen showed it was Cam. "Yo, Cam! How's it going?"

"I had enough of this bullcrap! You go capture that _thing_ if you want to, I don't want to hear about it again!"

Not even a greeting. Cohen cringed but pressed on. "What happened?"

"That thing tried to _fry_ me! It has freaking fire powers, that little _demon_! Hah! And it was not enough for it to attempt that, since it didn't work it _bit_ me!"

"The monster…bit you?" That was not something Cohen had expected at all.

"I swear I'm going to get one hell of an infection. My hand is going to fall right off and it is all because of you, Cohen! You and your blasted monster-filled future! Do you know what you can do now? Take that future and shove it all the way up where the sun doesn't shine. I don't want you ever mentioning those _things_ again, did you understand that?!" Cam hanged up without even letting Cohen say anything else.

Cohen stared at the cellphone, barely believing how Cam had shouted at him, exaggerating and getting melodramatic. Cam always had a stubborn streak but he had never flipped out on anyone like that.

What is happening to us? Cohen thought. In a matter of hours the once united group was falling apart, his three friends were all blaming him for this. Neither of the three seemed exactly willing to accept Cohen's point of view. Cohen knew them very well, thought. Once monsters roamed over the surface again Cohen was completely sure Mahiru, Selby and Cam would come to accept them. His friends weren't bad people; he knew they were just scared of the perspective of such a change in the world.

Still, this all hurt Cohen. The teenager sighed and tried to call Ciruel. The least he could do was at least confirm to Ciruel the monster did exist. Once Ciruel heard that Cohen would sit aside for a while. This all had gone very badly. He needed time to think.

-ooooo-

Asriel licked his teeth and spit onto the sidewalk, grimacing all the time. It had been a while since he had bit Cam and he still couldn't completely get the taste of blood off his fangs and tongue.

The rain wasn't as strong as before. He could see better than before. The rain didn't show any signs of stopping yet, though. He had wandered for a while already; there was nothing that ringed any bells. The city was a labyrinth of streets, houses and buildings he had never seen before. This all called for a new plan.

Wandering further could get him even more lost and away of Patta and Frisk. Maybe staying in one spot until the rain ended was a better idea, but standing on the sidewalk in middle of the rain didn't seem like the best way to do that. Asriel's new intention was to seek shelter until the rain was over, and once that happened…well he didn't know yet what he would do.

All he wanted right now was to not to be on the street.

He had found several places where he could enter freely, but all of them had a lot of people inside. Asriel wanted to avoid crowds; the possibility of somebody pulling off the hood of his raincoat, causing panic and getting him gravely hurt or even killed was something he wanted to avoid. The less people the better.

There! That was a possible place he could rest in. There was a bright white building, three stories high, and its doors were wide open. It was clearly meant to be a place to go in, and when Asriel peeked through the entrance he found out there was nobody inside. The sign engraved on the glass of the door said 'Dancelot, Dance Academy'. As long as he stayed away from any classrooms he should be fine. Because that is what academies worked, through classrooms, didn't they?

The relief of not having rain pounding on the plastic of the raincoat was a welcome change of pace but he didn't take it off. He walked further into the dance academy, leaving a trail of water all the way. It seemed like a neat place, bright and clean, and judging by the sounds it seemed like there was nobody around, or at least there weren't groups of people. It seemed to be all empty. Soon Asriel felt curiosity, how did the rest of this place look like? Surely it wouldn't do any harm to explore, right? As long as he stayed away from any humans it should all be fine.

Just like he expected there were classrooms, although it seemed like the first floor of the academy was more focused on music than dancing. Most classrooms had instruments, chairs and books filled with music sheets. Asriel browsed the music sheets, not understanding anything. He couldn't resist sitting in front of a piano to press on a few keys, giggling to himself. He wished he could give it a try without worrying of attracting unwanted attention. Playing the piano always seemed like fun.

Another classroom had trumpets, which he also tried for a moment. The very first sound, unexpectedly loud, was enough to dissuade him from trying any further. He couldn't even begin to guess how violins worked, and although his claws made quite easy to deal with guitars, he had no idea how to play the notes he wanted.

There seemed to be nobody in the first floor because no one came to check what had been causing all that noise. Asriel, satisfied with his exploration, went to the hall, soon stumbling upon the stairs that led to the second floor. Feeling quite lighthearted Asriel ascended upstairs. Outside the rain still kept going as strongly as before.

The second floor was pretty much identical to the first one. Lots of classrooms, but unlike the first floor it seemed there was somebody around. Asriel could hear music, singing, all that from one of the classrooms. He had been about to continue towards the third floor when the door closest to him opened.

In a moment the monster child hid between the shadows of the staircase, trying to be as silent as possible. The music stopped.

"...ten minutes ago, mom. I'll stay for a bit longer, and then I'll have to close everything and leave. It's my turn today"

It sounded like a woman talking through a phone. She stood near where Asriel was hiding and opened a cabinet, placing inside a large radio. She seemed to be just a few years younger than Patta. The woman moved with a calculated grace that showed her expertise, even when doing something as normal as getting onto her toes to reach the top shelf or stepping back into the hallway, always speaking to the cellphone in her hand.

"No, I haven't been seeing her. You know I wouldn't disobey you, mom. Celia has made her life and I have nothing to do with it"

That got Asriel to pay attention. Surely there was bound to be several Celias in the city, but could it be this woman was talking about Asriel's friend? Did she know her?

"Who has been telling you that? I-I haven't been calling her, that's a lie, and even if it were true you should know it's the right thing to-" she entered back to the classroom and closed the door. Asriel waited for a few seconds to see if she would come out again, and once he was sure she wouldn't he ran upstairs, thankful his padded feet wouldn't make much noise.

The third and last floor of the building was a single hallway. The hall led to offices, but there was one door that led to the room that took most of the building. Asriel entered, looking around himself with interest.

It was a large chamber, all its walls covered in mirrors and rails. There was almost nothing inside, just a few stray objects Asriel had no idea were for. The windows and the balcony gave it all a luxurious appearance. Surely in broad daylight it was a beautiful place to be in...whatever the room was for. "Neato..." he said, seeing his reflection on almost all mirrors.

Asriel stepped towards the balcony, thinking. The rain outside was still going, but maybe the height would allow him to see better where he was. He may as well take a rest. Idly, Asriel put his hand in the pocket of the raincoat and took out a small plastic container. Inside there were the last two Apple Bombs, which he had reserved for Frisk and him. It would be a measly lunch but it was better than nothing, at least. Wanting to save the food for when he couldn't resist anymore, he opened the door to the balcony.

The cellphone in his other pocket started to ring.

-ooooo-

"This is where we started running" Frisk said.

"Yeah, I recognize this door here...I think" Patta scratched their wet hair, looking in the direction they had crossed the street at first, shortly after Asriel had alarmed them about the person following them. "We all ran in the direction. Asriel must have gotten separated at some point and gone...somewhere. The problem is to know exactly where"

"Maybe he went back to the park"

"Eh, I don't think so. Chances are he ran away somewhere else, we need to-" Patta suddenly stopped and facepalmed with both hands. "Of course! I should have thought of this before!"

"What?"

"My cellphone. Asriel still has it. If Asriel can tell us where he is then you can lead us there!" Patta looked around. There was a bar just a few feet away, and it was open. All they needed was to find somewhere to call from and Asriel would be contacted in matter of minutes.

It didn't take long. The barkeeper accepted to allow them use the phone, and soon Patta was calling to their cellphone. They heard the tone once, twice...

"Howdy?"

"Asriel, where are you?" Patta asked immediately with noticeable relief in their voice.

"Patta! I-I don't know! I got lost, walked for a while, and...I'm inside a building"

That wasn't very descriptive. Patta took a moment to tell Frisk Asriel seemed to be fine. After all, if Asriel were in danger he would say it, wouldn't he? "Okay, listen to what I'll instruct you. Go outside of wherever you are and take a look at whatever is nearby. The more colorful or unique it is, the better"

"I'm on a third floor! Let me see..." Patta could hear the rain through the receiver. Although there were more important matters right now Patta hoped Asriel was at least holding the cellphone under the raincoat hood while he was outside "I see a clock tower"

"Frisk, is there a clock tower somewhere around here?" Patta asked. Frisk thought for a moment and nodded, they did know about it "That's good enough, Asriel. Just in case, where are you?"

-ooooo-

"...Dancelot Academy, I think" Asriel had just finished described the building to Patta. The adult instructed Asriel to go to the clock tower and wait for them nearby, and that they'd get there as quick as possible. The monster felt much calmer now, the situation was not so bad! He hanged up and put away the cellphone, all he had to go now was get out of the building. He started walking to go the door of the room; it shouldn't be too hard to-

"What do you think you're doing?!" the woman screeched, entering the room. She still had her ballet clothes. Asriel stopped immediately and pulled the hood over his head, hoping he had done it quickly enough. He was close enough for her to maybe catch a glimpse of his face. Asriel held his breath, waiting in any moment for her to shriek or do any alarmed gestures.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Look what you did! Now I'll have to clean all this" she replied, gesturing behind Asriel. The monster slowly turned around, finally noticing the trail of rainwater he had left on the floor from his time in the balcony "I know you may be looking for shelter during the rain but you could at least take the raincoat off"

"I'm sorry, I just-"

The woman crossed her arms "And don't think I didn't see the mess you did in the lobby and in the first floor. I already had to clean that"

"I will clean this" Asriel tried to appease her before this could get out of control "I can do it"

The woman glared at him for a moment before sighing. "No, it's fine. I will clean that but I need to tell you I'll have to close this building in ten minutes. Until then you can stay around" Well that didn't go so badly "Just take off that raincoat while you're here. The less I have to clean the better"

Asriel cringed and pushed the hood further onto his face. The woman was waiting impatiently; he needed to take a decision as quickly as possible. He couldn't just run away, the woman was blocking the way out, and if he dared to move more she would surely scream his head off. She seemed the type to explode at the slightest inconvenience. "Well?" Asriel dared to peek. She was scowling.

"I, um, I..."

"I don't have all day, boy. Please, just...do it, okay?"

Asriel decided to take a risk. Maybe she would understand, right? Celia, Graham and Ananas had understood even though he was a monster. This was a repeat of what happened in the airport. All he needed to do was to keep her calm. Asriel lowered the hood of his raincoat and started to take it off.

The woman's expression changed from annoyed to flabbergasted in record time. The sudden change made Asriel stop, waiting to see more of her reaction. "You...are a monster..." she murmured as if she couldn't still believe what she was seeing.

Asriel had to be frank, it was starting to get kind of annoying for people to gasp and stare at him. He nodded.

"...from Mount Ebott?"

"Kinda. I live under it" Asriel answered. The woman turned inexpressive and distant, as if she were staring into something that wasn't there, even if her eyes never stopped looking at Asriel.

"The monsters from Mt. Ebott...the disappearances...yes, that is right..." she murmured almost unintelligibly. Asriel didn't understand what she was saying.

"I don't mean to hurt anyone. Uh, I'll leave now" Asriel said hurriedly, stepping forward and putting the raincoat again, although he kept the hood off. The woman barely moved but it was enough to block the path. She started laughing. She laughed so much tears ran down her face, it was a completely joyless laughter that made Asriel freeze right where he was. After a moment of laughter she dried the tears off her face and gave Asriel a vacant smile.

"You don't mean to hurt anyone. Right. Sorry" there had been something very strange in her laughter and expression. It had been like a bomb that was about to explode. Asriel wasn't sure, but it seemed that the woman's eyes right now were full of...

...grief.

The woman shook her hands, gesturing at Asriel. "You know, when one says monster this isn't what one expects to see! When one says 'monster' one thinks of huge scaly creatures with three eyes and huge teeth, not..."

"Not furry boss monsters instead?" Asriel gave an awkward grin. This was a very familiar exchange.

"Boss m-" she shook her head, amused "I didn't expect a cute goat! That's what I'm trying to say. It makes one think..." methodically and quite slowly the woman started to move. Asriel didn't notice the way her muscles were tensing or the way her legs were positioning to ensure quick action. "But it's fine. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Asriel's grin vanished. A sudden feel of dread filled him.

"Because that means killing you will be much easier"

Before Asriel could react she spun on one foot, extending her leg, and kicked the door, making it close with a slam. The contact of the wood against her leg seemed painful but she didn't even flinch. Her expression had turned into one of clear resolution.

There was no doubt she really meant it. Asriel stepped back a bit, deeply afraid. "Wait, you don't have to-"

She didn't answer. She stepped forward in one leap and delivered a side kick. Asriel barely could dodge it. If he had stayed still for even one second more the kick would have connected with the side of his head with potentially lethal results. Her skills allowed her to use the momentum of her kick to spin and land on her feet without even staggering. The strength and excellence in the use of her legs and feet were notable.

The dancer stopped before starting to execute a series of movements completely out of place for the situation, as if this were no more than a rehearsal for a performance. Asriel would have been mildly amused if it weren't because he had to be ready to dodge or fight back any attempts she could make to hurt him.

A deep blue heart appeared in the air before falling onto the floor, right in front of her feet. Her SOUL moved along her, showing to be a target a bit tricky to hit.

There were no doubts now. This was truly a life-or-death situation and the attacker wasn't going to back down, no matter what he did. Asriel forced himself to try to leave aside his fear; he had to do something. He couldn't let himself be killed just like this. This wasn't going to be pretty but what other option did he have?

 ***Byssa attacks!**

* * *

 **At this point both the Archive of Our Own story and the Fanfiction story are at the same chapter, there's nothing else to rewrite or crosspost. From now on the posting schedule for new chapters is quite loose, as it won't be every other day anymore. I can't guarantee when a new chapter will be finished, but once it is I will post it in both sites.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	18. Graceless Murder Attempt

Byssa continued cycling through the eight basic ballet positions, keeping her eyes all the time on Asriel. She was clearly expecting the monster to make the first move. Perhaps she was waiting to have an excuse to try hard to murder him? Asriel didn't know. This could be rather dangerous if he made a bad choice.

 **Act - Talk**

 *** You try to think something to say.**

 ***But there was nothing to be said.**

Asriel tried to think of some way to calm her down, a last resort before he was forced to attack. Unfortunately he couldn't think of anything. Mentioning Celia seemed like the best option, but how would Byssa react if she knew Asriel had been near her cousin? That is, if that Celia was the same than the Celia this dancer knew.

Byssa wasn't going to stand around all day, though. If Asriel wasn't going to attack then she was going to do it. She reached Asriel's side in one jump and started rotating on one single leg like a spinning top, with admirable speed. Her other leg, her arms, and even her long hair were her weapons, trying to corner Asriel against the mirrors to smash him. Asriel barely could crouch and avoid the limbs until he tripped.

Asriel fell onto the floor, Byssa's leg passing just a couple inches over him. Fortunately, Byssa was getting a bit dizzy, so she was forced to stop and retreat, glaring at Asriel. "You won't be able to dodge forever" she sentenced, her voice as cold as ice. The worst part was that Asriel knew she was right.

His only hope was to drive her away. Asriel shakily stood up. "I-If you don't let me go I will-"

"You will kill me?" Byssa scoffed "That's no surprise"

Byssa wasn't scared of him. Asriel showed her his palm, letting his fire magic surround his paw. He tried his best to make it look as bright and menacing as he could. In a way it was almost beautiful, the light of the fire being reflected by all the mirrors, but Byssa ignored all that.

 **Act - CHECK**

 *** BYSSA 17 ATK 12 DEF**

 ***A dancer who doubts her own integrity.**

Asriel waited for a reaction, anything that could show he was going to be able to leave. Byssa took a deep breath and jumped as high as she could. She clearly didn't care at all that Asriel had fire magic; obviously she trusted her own athletic prowess.

Byssa used all the strength of her legs to jump in the air, aiming to fall against Asriel. The sudden upwards movement caught Asriel by surprise; he had expected her to continue attacking from the ground. He wasn't able to move aside before she fell.

Byssa practically crashed against him. He could feel her weight crushing him, pressing him hard against the floor. Thankfully the raincoat took the worst part of the impact, but it was still a nasty hit. Asriel's HP descended five points, one fourth of his life had been taken away already. Byssa jumped away, satisfied. "This is just starting, little monster. You are going to die"

"I won't let myself be killed, I can't let it happen" Asriel repeated to himself a few times, again preparing his magic. This time his intention wasn't to try to dissuade her, this time he was going to have to fight if he was wanted to survive.

The dancer's blue SOUL was moving in front of her, jumping and twirling as if she were controlling it consciously. It was not an easy target, but Asriel was sure he would be able to aim. His hand moved from side to side, forming a line of embers that flew forward towards Byssa and her SOUL. Only a couple embers hit the target, but that was enough. Two HP worth of damage had been done.

Byssa had only 24 HP. It should only take a few well-placed attacks to make her retreat; surely even the most persistent human would go away if they felt she couldn't continue anymore, right? Byssa would stop this all once she got hurt enough.

The fire hit her directly but Byssa's DEF deflected most of the attack. It was going to take a while. Byssa stepped back when the fire hit her, although her feet showed no signs of having been burned. "So that's how you killed him! You and your people burned him to death"

"We-We didn't-"

This time Byssa didn't jump, instead trying once again to make Asriel trip and stomp him against the ground. It was rather easy to avoid as long as Asriel paid attention to where she was planning to move. She was an adult fighting a child, after all, his size and nimbleness matched her sheer strength.

Still, Byssa wasn't even going to let him say a word. She had complete control of the situation. There was nothing to talk about; this was a fight and nothing else.

The FIGHT continued. Byssa showed quite a lot of prowess not only in attacking with her body but also, curiously, with her SOUL. At one point the SOUL, when it bounced against the floor, created waves Asriel 's own SOUL had to dodge.

The usual jumping and stomping continued too, to the point Asriel could see where she would attack from and dodge accordingly. He wasn't staying idle, though.

His use of circles and lines of fire magic and, in one occasion, his special attack in the form of stars were used with skill, impacting every single time. It was clear by now Byssa couldn't actually control her SOUL, otherwise she would have dodged better. One time she had jumped straight into a pile of fire that had formed on the floor, hurting herself further.

The back and forth of attacks was tiring, especially once it was clear Byssa wasn't going to stop until she was too weak to fight. Asriel tried his best. Ember after ember impacted against Byssa. The monster did everything he could to hit the target every time, after all the sooner the FIGHT was over the better.

Byssa's composure started to slip, her face contorting into an expression of rage. No matter how fast she moved she had only managed to hit Asriel only once. She was supposed to be nimble and ready to kill Asriel, why had she not been able to do something as easy as this?

Her SOUL was vulnerable and despite the DEF her dear tutu provided, she felt a growing weakness starting to overtake her. Byssa stepped forward, ready to once again try to crack Asriel's head open, but her knees buckled. She fell onto the floor, groaning in pain and clutching her chest.

Asriel gave a sigh of relief, surely this was a sign she couldn't continue FIGHTing! He kept his distance, looking at Byssa with apprehension. He wanted to approach, to make sure she was okay, he really wanted that, but the way Byssa was glaring at him kept him away. "Excuse me? Are you feeling okay?"

"It hurts...my chest hurts..." she moaned, feeling the tears welling in her eyes. Her hand moved to behind her back and without Asriel noticing she started to undo the laces of her ballet shoes.

"We can't continue fighting. I'll get help!"

"No! This isn't over yet. This _can't_ be over yet" Byssa tried to stand up but fell back onto the floor, too weak for that. Her turn in the FIGHT went by without an action from her. It was all up to Asriel now.

 ***Byssa is tired.**

 **Mercy - Spare**

"I don't want to fight anymore" Asriel said, slowly sticking closer to the mirrors on the walls. Maybe he'd be able to get to the doors, and once he did and made sure to have an escape route...just in case...he would be able to help her.

It greatly bothered him he had to have a plan to run away quickly. He would have preferred to trust Byssa, to believe that now that she was weakened she wouldn't attack him anymore, but even he had to admit she was dangerous.

"Where do...you think you...are going?" Byssa groaned.

"This fight is over!"

"Heh...you dare to show me mercy...after you refused to be merciful to my brother?" Asriel barely had time to jump back when the ballet shoes, held onto the laces and swung like a long flail, tore through the air "I won't forgive that! I will kill you!"

"W-what do you mean?!" Asriel could clearly see Byssa wasn't really paying attention to him anymore. Her eyes showed a deep grief and maddening pain. He could see it now; this wasn't anything against him, maybe not even against monsters.

Byssa was fighting something else. To her Asriel was a symbol of _something_. He suspected what it was. Celia being mentioned, her way to react to the mention of Mt. Ebott, he being a monster...it all was connected:

Umi.

Asriel decided to be careful. Byssa was getting weaker and weaker yet showed no signs of giving up. However keeping the magic attacks going strongly was a bad idea. This was going to need all his concentration.

 ***Byssa is not done yet.**

More than half of Byssa's HP was gone already. Asriel had to be much more careful now, after all, even though he was defending himself, he had no intention of going so far as to killing her. That was a limit he intended to never cross in his life no matter what. One single ember crossed the room until it hit Byssa.

Byssa laughed when the fire impacted against her. "I knew you had it in you. You monsters have killed so many people already, what's one more for the count?"

"We haven't killed anyone!"

"Shut up!" she said, lifting the ballet shoes again and swinging them. The shoes whooshed through the air, the flexible laces letting them cover a lot of space without having to move from where she was kneeling.

She was starting to have a breakdown. For how long had she been bottling up her grief, frustration and powerlessness? Now that she had the chance to attack what she saw as a symbol of the curse of Mt. Ebott she was starting to lose her mind.

"We haven't killed anyone!" Asriel shouted, but he knew what he was doing right now wasn't exactly backing up his words.

To try to speed things a bit up Asriel judged prudent to try again to attack with stars. After that Byssa had only 6 HP left. He couldn't allow himself to do anything else other than trying to reduce her health by one every time.

Byssa almost fell on her back but managed to hold on, spinning the ballet shoes in the air. "Then why has nobody returned from Mt. Ebott? What happened to everyone? What did you monsters do to the search party?!"

"The what?"

"Everyone who went to look for Umi! You monsters killed the _twenty-five people_ who went to look for him!"

Twenty-five! A considerable amount of people disappeared in one single day, exactly one year ago! The shock of hearing the extent of the curse made Asriel freeze. There was something _seriously_ wrong on that mountain, and there was no more option for him than climbing it if he wanted to get home, and knowing Patta, they would want to escort him as far as possible. They...would be okay, right? There was no imminent danger, nothing that could kill them both...right?

Asriel had been so surprised he stayed still for too long.

The shoes impacted against him, knocking his breath out and pushing him against the wall covered in mirrors. More than half of his health was gone. Asriel panted, barely managing to avoid the rest of the relentless swinging, and hoped he hadn't broken a rib. Just because monsters didn't bleed it didn't mean any wounds that didn't outright kill him didn't make lasting damage.

Once Byssa had to rest for a moment again Asriel stepped forward again, trying to stay focused. Byssa had endured many hits and didn't give up yet. This couldn't go any longer before her getting dangerously weak. He already had a plan that, although it surely wouldn't change her opinion about everything that had happened, would at least mend the damage he had done to her.

But first he really needed to have an escape route.

 **Mercy - Flee**

As soon as Asriel tried to move to the right Byssa slammed the shoes against the mirror to his side. The glass vibrated and Asriel stepped back, startled. "You won't escape! I will...I will..."

Byssa's SOUL somehow started to hit the outside of the hitbox that contained the FIGHT and Asriel's SOUL. The square, small and constricting, moved with every bounce of Byssa's blue jumping heart, knocking it around. It was a miracle none of the walls touched him, and in a few seconds the foe's SOUL returned to where she was.

There was no sense on attempting to talk to her. It was obvious by now this wasn't going to end until Asriel either died or until Byssa was so weak she couldn't move. As much as Asriel hated it he had to continue.

One HP more taken away from Byssa.

He tried to make his magic as gentle as possible to whittle down her HP little by little, frantically trying to end this before they got worse. Byssa stopped for a moment, gathering her breathing before attacking again, her SOUL repeating what had happened last time.

It took a minute or so before her health reached 2 HP. Asriel hadn't suffered further damage, having avoided the flailing shoes and the hitbox.

The lower Byssa's HP got, the more anxious Asriel got. He didn't ever lose control of his magic or his own strength, always keeping it as mild as possible, but continuing attacking was not an option anymore.

Fortunately Byssa was at her limit now. She feebly tried to lift the shoes again but it was futile. The shoes fell onto the floor, and she tried to keep herself from not falling onto the floor. Maybe other people would have resisted magic attacks more stoically even with such low amounts of HP, but Byssa wasn't known for her stamina despite her dancing training. The fact these were magic attacks didn't help, either.

"I can't...keep going..." she wheezed, breathing busily "I can't believe I got...defeated..." she said. The FIGHT had ended.

Asriel didn't go away, though. He had caused Byssa's current pain; he couldn't in good faith leave her like this. The dancer raised her head, looking directly at Asriel's eyes.

"This is what happened...I see...there's nothing I can do now. Go ahead, kill me too"

"I'm not killing anyone" Asriel replied firmly "Monsters have nothing to do with the disappearances"

"I don't believe you. Now you'll leave me here to die...maybe I deserve it, I don't know..." Byssa smiled pitifully "Do it"

"I won't do it" Asriel said. Byssa was weak; it was time to take another risk. He knew very well this could go wrongly if Byssa was cruel enough to continue attacking. His life was still in danger.

But he also believed a bit of kindness could be good for her, especially since he had been the one to inflict all that damage. Asriel didn't hesitate to take out the last two Apple Bombs. He opened the container and tried to give one to Byssa. He really hoped there was enough magic in those to heal her SOUL. "Here"

"...what is that?"

"Food. Take one"

Byssa stared at Asriel for a good minute. They held each other's gazes, waiting for the other to relent and do a move. Asriel was having a hard time doing that; he could see the distrust and fear in her eyes. It was even more astonishing to himself he had learned to recognize such things without a doubt.

Finally Byssa slowly took one of the Apple Bombs. She examined it all over, as if she expected to find needles sticking from it, but after she was unable to fin anything that could hint an intention to hurt her she reluctantly bit into it.

And Asriel still didn't leave.

It wasn't long before Byssa was done with the Apple Bomb. Her weakness seemed to be gone. Moving slowly, as if she feared she was going to crumble down in any moment, she stood up, moving her limbs to test how they went. Once she was sure she was okay she sighed.

Asriel was quite relieved to see he wasn't being attacked again. Instead she stepped away towards the mirror, looking as if there was something she wanted to say but couldn't make the words come out of her mouth. After a moment of silence Byssa finally found her voice..

"…why?" she asked.

"Why that?"

"That food you gave me. I can feel it; it feels like nothing happened here. I feel…strong" Magic food at it best. Asriel made a mental note to ask Patta to tell Graham about the success of the magic in the Apple Bombs "Why would you heal me?"

"I hurt you. It was my responsibility to heal you" that was a simple explanation that, although it wasn't the complete truth, should be enough.

"I felt in the brink of death. You could have killed me, especially because I tried to kill you. Didn't you even think I could try again after being healed?"

Asriel tentatively stepped forward. "I thought about that danger but it doesn't matter. I have no intentions to kill, and no monster does" that wasn't an exaggeration. He couldn't guarantee all monsters would be as peaceful as him, but he did know the huge majority was like that. Asriel smiled "I'm glad you are okay"

Byssa turned around. For the first time she was seeing Asriel as a person instead of a symbol of her own grief and the legend of Mt. Ebott. She could see the immensity of her sins now. She had attempted to kill a child. Asriel being a monster didn't change the fact she had knowingly tried to do it, all because she had been so distraught she allowed her own pain to overtake her and fog up her judgment. She had wanted for so long to lash out, blame somebody for her brother and the search party's death – among them her cousin's parents – and when the chance presented itself nothing else mattered.

The weight of her actions was almost unbearable.

Byssa hung her head in shame and briskly walked out of the room, only saying "I'm sorry" before leaving Asriel alone in the room.

The goat child left the room too. He almost couldn't believe he had outright fought somebody, and more than that, he won. True, he got hurt but he won. For a moment he wondered what could have happened if Ananas hadn't convinced him to accept fighting in self-defense. Unlike Celia, there would have been no way to stop Byssa with a pacifist option.

Chances are he would have died. Asriel shuddered from thinking that, it was unpleasant but it was the truth. For now he had to go meet Patta near the clock tower, how long had he spent FIGHTing? Patta must be close to the academy. Taking the last Apple Bomb Asriel ate it.

This was _really_ good magic food! Byssa was right; he could practically feel how he was healed. It may not have been entirely magic, Asriel could feel it didn't have that curious trait of being absorbed immediately once it got to his stomach, but somehow he had really managed to give it healing magic properties. Toriel would be proud of him once she heard about this.

-ooooo-

Byssa was seriously distraught.

Once she left the room where she and Asriel had battled she had gone straight into one of the classrooms in the second floor and locked the door behind her. She needed some privacy, time to think. And above all that, she really didn't want to see Asriel. She didn't feel like she could stand there and look at the goat, not after trying to kill him and him forgiving her like that.

That is what rattled her the most, how he forgave her. What she did didn't deserve such easy forgiveness, that is what she thought! Then why...did he do it? Why could he really do that? She was wrong and monsters had nothing to do with the disappearances, that was a possibility, but that would only apply if all monsters were like Asriel.

That was impossible. Not every monster in existence could be so gentle. If there was a single one who could hate humans and kill them then there was still a chance monsters were the ones who made everyone disappear. They were all supposed to be locked underground with a barrier, but by now it was obvious such barrier didn't exist. Otherwise Asriel wouldn't be here.

Telling herself over and over that Asriel had treated her like that to make her doubt herself she started changing her clothes. She had left her usual clothes in this classroom, after all. "Yeah, surely he wouldn't have treated me like that if he hadn't been the one to attack me. Surely if he had found me hurt on that mountain he would have done nothing. That must be right" she mumbled without much belief on her own words.

While she was dressing she found her cell phone, which brought different thoughts to her mind. She hadn't called Celia the day before, something that seldom happened, as Byssa called Celia almost every afternoon. Today was the anniversary of the disappearance of her parents; surely it would be good to check Celia was okay.

She answered. "Hi, Byssa!"

"Hi, Celia. How is it going? Have enough dirty laundry yet?"

"Not yet, I can resist a few days more" Byssa usually took care of many chores neither Celia nor Frisk could do. She felt this was her responsibility as Celia's cousin, especially because Byssa's parents didn't want any of that. That is why Byssa always did that without them knowing, as much of a bother it is.

"Are you okay, Celia? How are you feeling?"

"...I'm okay. Sad, but I'm okay" Celia wasn't crying, Byssa took that as a good sign "It happened a year ago, right?"

"Uh, it did, yeah..." Byssa looked out of the window "Mt. Ebott is a nightmare. I really want to move away to somewhere I can't see it. Too many bad memories"

"Oh, by the way, monsters aren't kidnapping people! They didn't do any of that!" Celia said qith conviction. Byssa froze, what was up with that change of topic?

"Why do you say that?"

"I met a monster two days ago. We are friends!"

Byssa felt like something was choking her. She felt almost afraid to ask. "Y-Yes? Did that monster try to hurt you?" the thought of Asriel attacking Celia with the same attacks he had used against her made her very angry, but she restrained her fury. Celia didn't need to know about that.

"No! He was very kind, even after I...kind of attacked him?" that wasn't at all what Byssa expected. When she demanded an explanation Celia told a modified story of her first encounter with Asriel. She never mentioned she had tried to mug Asriel, she said she had been scared from seeing a monster. When Byssa asked if he had attacked her Celia made very clear he hadn't.

"Even after I hit him with my blade he refused to attack me" she said "And after that we were friends"

"Tell me about the monster"

"His name is Asriel. I think he is a goat? A white goat, no horns, adorable ears, he looked like a plush animal!" Celia was almost squealing. The description matched the monster Byssa had fought. The weight of her sins got heavier. She cringed and barely managed to continue the conversation.

"R-r-r-really? That's n-ni-nice, Celia. I'm happy for y-y-you"

"Frisk, Asriel and I drew with crayons, we talked; he is the son of the king. I'm friends with a fluffy prince! And so nice, you won't ever guess what he did"

"What did h-he do?"

"He gave me gold! I am rich, Byssa! Frisk and I won't have to worry about anything for a long while. I never thought monsters could be so kind. I like Asriel so much, Byssa, he is the best!

...Byssa? Byssa, are you there?"

Byssa had gone silent. Astonished, she literally stopped breathing for a moment. Only when her lungs forced her to breathe she realized she had gone silent. "That's g-great. Listen, I will call you in a moment, there's a c-client, okay?" and without waiting for a reply Byssa hung up. She slid down the wall until she hit the floor, all the time staring forward in disbelief.

Asriel was Celia's friend. Not only that, it was clear by now Celia greatly cared about Asriel. The thought of almost having killed somebody Celia loved made Byssa cry immediately. This was something Celia definitely should never hear about, she was sure she would never forgive her.

And not only that, Asriel had taken care of Celia much better than Byssa had ever done. Even though they were different species, even though Asriel was no more than a kid, he had been selfless and somehow made Celia rich. The monster had given Celia and Frisk the chance to have a better life.

Byssa gripped the phone tighter. She could feel lots of complicated feelings, but over all of them there was guilt, not only towards Asriel, but towards Celia. Sure, she may have tried to take care of some of Celia's needs, but that is not enough. Byssa knew what she should do. She should do what is right, take care of Celia, do everything needed without caring what Byssa's parents would say. She had let her lack of integrity lead to her little cousin's actual homeless life, all because she was too afraid to do what was right in fear of what her parents would say.

"Oh my god, I'm a horrible person"

Hearing herself say those words aloud was like a slap. She couldn't continue like this. Screw her parents; she was going to take care of Celia from now on. Byssa was going to do what was right and nothing would change her mind.

It was time to call Celia again, and this time that call was for a good reason. Celia's life was going to change for the better now; she was going to make sure of that.

-ooooo-

Asriel had put the raincoat hoodie on and had been about to step outside of the academy when Patta's cellphone started ringing again. "Howdy"

"Asriel, we have been looking around the clock tower for a while already. Where are you?" it was Patta. It seemed the FIGHT with Byssa lasted longer than he had thought.

"I'm still in the academy! I'm sorry, I...I had to go to the bathroom" Better not to tell Patta about the FIGHT.

"Oh, I see. Either way, are you in danger in there? I mean, will anyone be able to notice you are a monster?"

"I will be okay"

"Then please wait for us there. We'll be there soon" Patta requested. Asriel didn't mind waiting in the academy for a little while longer, after all Byssa wasn't going to hurt him anymore. May as well do it.

Asriel sat on the chairs of the lobby, ready to wait. Outside, the rain was finally stopping.


	19. All Eyes Are On Him

The academy was pretty silent now that the noise of the rain outside was gone. Asriel swung his legs, waiting patiently for Patta and Frisk to arrive. The clock on the wall showed it was 1:47 PM, by now Ciruel would already be home. At the start of the day Asriel had been excited about meeting Ciruel, but after the events of the last few hours all Asriel wanted to go was lock himself in a place with a bed and rest.

Everything had been much more tiring and emotionally exhausting than he thought it would be. To be completely honest...he was starting to feel overwhelmed. "Maybe I shouldn't have accepted to meet Ciruel. I wish I were home now" he said aloud, sighing.

A minute passed in silence until Asriel heard noises from the stairs that led to the second floor. It seemed Byssa was descending the stairs, it surely meant it was time for her to close the building. When she arrived to the lobby she didn't ask Asriel to leave, though. Instead, she sat in the chair furthest away from him and refused to look at him.

"...your name is Asriel, isn't it?" she inquired.

"Eeeeh...yes" she somehow found out his name. That was a bit alarming, but Asriel chose to hold onto his hopes Byssa had abandoned any animosity she could have against him. Byssa nodded, staring at the floor.

"I just called Celia. She told me what you did for her"

"You mean the gold? It was nothing! I had some left, it was no big deal" Asriel waved his hands, trying to diminish the importance of his actions. Byssa raised her head, smiling almost imperceptibly.

"You made her really happy. Even if she never hears of you again I'm willing to bet she'll never forget you, boy. I want to say thank you for your kindness"

Asriel blushed slightly, pleased. "She is my friend; I had to do something to help. Anybody would have done the same"

Those words made Byssa wince for reasons Asriel didn't really understand. She seemed to feel guilty of something about Celia but the monster couldn't guess why. "I think you deserve to know what will happen now.

Celia and I are moving away"

"Really?" Finally! Celia was going to have a home! It took a whole year of waiting, but her patience was finally being rewarded.

"Yes. We're escaping this damn city once and for all. No more pressure from my family, no more Mt. Ebott, just a blank future and a whole life in front of us. I won't lie; your gold is what is allowing us to do that. It's also because of you that I realized I hadn't helped Celia as much as I should have"

Asriel chuckled awkwardly, it had happened again. He hadn't even said anything about Celia or about helping her yet somehow Byssa was giving him the credit of her change of mind, just like everyone else had done so far. Making a mental note to comment it to Patta later Asriel shrugged.

"It was nothing...?"

"How did you get to the surface, anyway? I thought the barrier was impossible to get through"

"I don't know. I found myself over the surface, now all I want is to return back to the Underground. It's nice up here but I can't live away of my family or the rest of the monsters. I don't think I could endure that" Not so nice now that he was starting to see how other humans could treat monsters, if the Youth Troop and Byssa were any indication. Asriel clenched his fists; he really hoped there wouldn't be more unpleasant humans while he was on the surface.

Byssa tilted her head. "So you didn't come up here by yourself. That is...interesting" There was silence for a moment while Byssa mulled it. "Maybe somebody sent you here without your authorization. Wouldn't be the first time something like that happens to anybody. Try to think on the last thing you remember before coming here"

"...I don't think that helps" Mainly because the last memory he had before appearing in Patta's house was of a monster dying and exploding into dust and static and later attacking him. He couldn't see how he got from the CORE to a place in the surface thousands of miles away of Mt. Ebott.

"Well it is all okay! Whether it was somebody else pushing you here, or fate, or just a coincidence it doesn't matter. I will close the building now"

"Wait! I'm waiting for somebody here; can't I stay for just a little while longer?" Asriel tried to make the best sad puppy eyes he could. He really didn't want to go outside without Patta anymore. There was no way he was going to risk getting lost again.

Byssa turned away. "Fine, just a bit longer. Just for you" there was silence once again "Either way, glad I met you here" she tried to leave but before she could she felt a fuzzy hand grabbing her wrist. When she turned around she saw Asriel to her side, looking at the floor as if it interested him a lot.

"...if monsters come to the surface...will people try to kill us?" Asking that to Byssa was more an impulse than a conscious decision. He really wanted to believe everything would be fine, that even though humans and monsters may not get along perfectly at first there was a chance it would all be okay. The problem was how long monsters would resist all that. Asriel had only been mistreated for less than a day and he was already wishing to be in the Underground for a long time.

That got the dancer to stop immediately. Asriel's question felt like a punch to her gut. "Why would you think that?" Asriel didn't reply but at least he let go of Byssa's wrist. Byssa pinched the bridge of her nose "It is because of what I did, isn't it? Look, that was because I was stupid. Don't think everyone is going to be like that"

"Do you really mean that?" Somehow it was a bit comforting to hear that from the person who twenty minutes ago had been attempting to murder him.

"I mean it. There are a lot of bad people in the world, humans are like that, but it can all change. Not everyone, but people can change their minds for the better, I think" When Asriel didn't reply to that the dancer decided to try something else. She crouched until she could look at Asriel without forcing him to crane his head upwards. She tentatively cupped his head in her hands, making him look at her. "I may not have treated you the right way when we met. I admit it; I did something despicable when I tried to kill you, but look at me now. We are in the same room and I have no intentions to hurt you any longer. If at first some may dislike monsters, after some time I bet those bad feelings will be gone.

It is not easy to change one's mindset and feelings, but more people than you think will be willing to do it. It is never too late to change"

Patta had said something like that earlier that day. With the right incentive people can change. Maybe all monsters had to do was find the right angle to approach humanity. If they did that then there wouldn't be as many problems as there would be otherwise. Asriel stepped away and nodded, still a bit downcast.

"I think I understand"

"Please don't hate humanity because of what I did. That is all I ask"

Before Asriel could reply a human child arrived running and practically threw themselves on Asriel, making him fall to the floor. "Azzy!"

"Frisk? I'm –urk- I'm fine!" Frisk was attached to Asriel as if they had been separated for weeks instead of little less than two hours. The child was holding him down onto the floor and in middle of Frisk's hurried words about being worried Asriel heard Byssa going upstairs. Although her guilt had diminished a little, seeing how she had talked to Asriel, she wasn't well enough to bear meeting anyone who actually liked and got along with Asriel.

Patta entered shortly after that, thankfully prying Frisk away. While the adult was trying their best to try to seem nonchalant about all that – maybe because they feared Asriel would get stressed if they overdid the joy of the reunion - the signs Patta had seemingly come running from the clock tower and the way Patta helped Asriel stand up and gripped his hand showed all the tension they had been accumulating since they realized Asriel was missing. "I'm really glad you had my cellphone! I don't know how we could have found you otherwise!"

"Patta!" Asriel wasn't afraid of showing how happy he was to see them, though. He hugged Patta's torso, sobbing "I'm sorry for getting lost!"

"I should have paid more attention. You two are under my protection, if anything had happened to you or Frisk..." Patta fidgeted a bit under Asriel's hug. This wasn't what they had expected. Asriel let go quickly, stepping back as if he expected to be scolded for trespassing Patta's personal space.

"So what now?"

"We aren't far from Ciruel's house" Frisk had already gotten over their anxiousness about Asriel, once again going back to their usual neutral expression. It was a bit unsettling how quickly they managed to take control of their feelings.

Patta started walking towards the entrance doors. "Okay, this is what we will do: let's go get lunch and then get to that house as soon as possible. We are a bit behind schedule but that is good! Ciruel will be home, I bet, and once we're there we'll be able to rest before finally starting the last part of the trip"

It was almost over. Frisk explained they were already close to the other end of the city, but that Ciruel's house was a bit away from there. When Patta asked what Frisk meant with that all Frisk did was smile enigmatically and say it was going to be a surprise.

"You will like it" Frisk said.

"If you say so...let's get going, then!" While Patta still wasn't happy about having to take Asriel to Ciruel's house, the perspective of having a place to rest, hopefully for the night, was very tempting. Patta and Frisk exited the dance academy, but before Asriel could cross the doors he stopped, a sudden thought crossing his mind.

"W-Wait here! I forgot something upstairs" he hurriedly said before running back inside and towards the stairs. Without even waiting for Patta's approval Asriel ascended, skipping stairs and hoping to find Byssa before his companions tried to follow him. What he wanted to ask Byssa could be distressing for Frisk, that is how he saw it, so first Asriel wanted to know before his friend had the chance to hear about it.

Byssa was in a second floor classroom, looking out of the window towards Patta and Frisk. "Those two were happy to see you. It's good to know you have friends up here" Byssa said as soon as Byssa entered. Asriel had no time for chatting, though.

"Excuse me! You said Celia and you were leaving the city, right?"

"What about that?"

"What will happen to Frisk?" Frisk already said he didn't want to live with Celia if she got a family again, but the monster was sure the possibility of Celia leaving the city was something Frisk hadn't ever considered. Better to try to soften the blow as soon as he could.

Byssa frowned. "Nothing? Celia did say she wanted Frisk to come with us, but it isn't so simple. It's true they have no family, but it isn't like we can drag them with us. I have a nice amount of money saved but three people are going to sap quite a lot of it"

"You won't even try to take them with you?!"

"I didn't say I wouldn't try! It's just that..." it seemed the dancer wasn't sure how to tell Asriel her exact thoughts. She gestured with her hands while she tried to find the right words "...it is just that I don't want to force Frisk to live with us. I don't think they have ever left this city, somehow going to live to some other place, away of everything they know, it doesn't seem right to me. I know they'd have Celia and me, but...you get it?"

That sounded pretty similar to Asriel's situation. While he would have Patta, and he trusted they would take care of him well enough, he couldn't see himself living over the surface and away from everything he had known. The Underground may have been small but it was his home. "I think I understand"

Byssa smiled and looked through the window. "Celia plans to tell Frisk the next time she sees them. It won't be easy, but it is something she needs to do. Please don't tell Frisk about this"

"Asriel, what is taking you so long?!" Patta shouted from the entrance. The conversation had to be over now before Patta got suspicious and went looking for him. Asriel waved as a farewell and returned downstairs running.

He actually had no intention to obey Byssa about not telling Frisk. In his opinion the sooner Frisk knew about it, the better. Asriel had no idea how his friend would react when he got told the girl that was their friend was going to leave the city, maybe to never be seen again. Asriel did know that would be a situation he'd rather to hear about as soon as possible, so he intended to follow his own instinct and do what he wished other would do for him.

It made sense, didn't it?

* * *

 _...and so the fate of this world was sealed. I understand now. This is what I should have tried to change in the only chance I had. Maybe if I had then everything would have gone much better than it did._

* * *

-ooooo-

Frisk munched the chips Patta had brought for them, listening intently.

"Twenty-five people in one single day? That is extremely worrying" Patta said, looking at the mountain the distance with apprehension "A-Asriel, are you sure that is the only way to get to the Underground?" Asriel nodded. Patta would be lying if they said this didn't scare them. Not many things would make so many people go missing at more or less the same time.

No matter what happened both Asriel and they would be risking their lives while trying to climb that mountain. The hopes of not encountering anything bad were almost crushed by now; the problem was not even knowing what was on it.

"This doesn't mean you will be in trouble, Patta. You will be okay" Frisk piped up.

"I-I'm not worried just for me! What about Asriel? I can't just let him climb the mountain alone. Nothing says monsters or children are safe from whatever is on that mountain"

"There's no option" that was all Frisk replied to that. There was truly nothing else to be said, either the two of them climbed the mountain or they didn't, and for Asriel to return home it was obvious which one was going to be chosen. Patta was going to try to find information about Mt. Ebott, though, at least to feel a bit better about what is going on.

They continued walking in silence, observing the city around them. The buildings were getting shorter, instead turning into houses and quaint stores. It all resembled the parts of the city Patta and Asriel had seen at first when they arrived from the airport, which was enough to confirm the edge of the city was near. "Mt. Ebott seems so far away!" Asriel commented "I thought it would be closer than this"

"There are suburbs and a forest" Frisk said.

"But we have progressed and that is what matters. We're doing quite well, for people whose only way to move was through walking" Patta stopped, looking around "So, where's that guy Ciruel's house, Frisk?"

"Over here" Frisk pointed to a stone road that separated from the street and went towards the right, ascending through a beautiful passageway lined by trees. It was a tad strange to see a path like that in middle of the city.

The three of them walked into the path, after a while feeling it started leading uphill. "...Frisk, question: is Ciruel rich?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Not everyone can live on a freaking hill in middle of a city"

"Yes, he is rich. _Very_ rich"

It had been more of a hunch than something Patta had deduced from looking around, but it was good to be prepared in some way. Too bad they couldn't really do anything. Patta didn't feel well dressed for meeting with somebody of Ciruel's apparent status, Frisk wasn't looking much better – although it was more forgivable due to their age – and all Asriel had was the same sweater and pants he had appeared with three days ago. It was a pitiful state of affairs.

When the group got to the top of the hill they saw enough to confirm that yes, Ciruel certainly had access to lots of money. The road ended in a steel gate, which seemed to surround the top of the hill. Ciruel's house was of lavish appearance, with an atmosphere of respectable age that intimidated Patta. They felt they had to be careful with anything they said or did, at least to avoid offending Ciruel.

They truly hated feeling that for pretty much no reason at all.

To the side of the gate there was a booth, inside it a man with bored expression. The man quickly straightened up when Patta approached with the children, Asriel making sure to keep the hood of the raincoat over his head. "Excuse me, is Ciruel home?"

"Sir is not receiving anyone today...unless you are the person he is waiting for" the man looked at the children with suspicion. Thankfully Asriel couldn't see anything due to the raincoat hood; if he had realized the way the man was looking at him surely he would have fidgeted nervously.

"Please tell him Graham has sent me here"

"...that is not necessary. I have orders: first, make sure this person is the one to come in" the man lifted a small screen where a photo of Patta was shown. Patta frowned, stupefied.

"Where did you get that photo?" Patta recognized the background. The photo was taken from the entrance of Graham's inn, showing a clear image of Patta's face. It could only be the photo Mahiru had taken with her cellphone. Why did one of Ciruel's employees have it?

Patta could think of a couple reasons and none of them worked to endear Ciruel to them.

"That doesn't matter. While I am sure you are the person here in this photo, I also have orders to not to let you through unless the monster is with you. So let me ask you" the man leaned forward, still looking at Asriel. Asriel had lowered his head even more, trying his best to hide his hands and feet under the raincoat. Frisk protectively stood in front of Asriel, but it was useless, the man already believed the monster was the child in the raincoat.

Patta grit their teeth, thinking quickly. "I have no reason to tell you about that. Just tell Ciruel we're here, please!"

"No monster, no entrance. We're not changing our mind" the man replied. There was no use, that man wasn't going to let them not even talk to Ciruel unless they showed Asriel. Making mental note to tell Ciruel what was their opinion about this requirement Patta approached Asriel and pulled off the hood.

The man didn't give any favorable reactions. His eyes narrowed, and Asriel, feeling the scorn that man felt towards him, tried to hide his face behind his ears. "...right. So this is the monster. Sir is going to be _so_ happy about this"

"Yeah, whatever, please tell him now!" Patta put the hood back on Asriel's head, wanting to go away as soon as possible. The man glared at Asriel for a moment before lifting a phone receiver.

"Hello, it's me. Tell Sir his guests have arrived" a pause "Yeah, the monster exists and is here. It is real"

"You shouldn't be telling it like that!"

The man put the receiver down for a moment. "Everyone in this place knows about the monster. Sir told us all he knew about it" Fantastic. The more Patta heard about Ciruel the least they liked him. The man took the receiver and listened.

"Alright", he started once he hanged up "Sir is coming to receive you in person. Please wait here"

"Thank you" Patta said warily. The three of them leaned on the gate to wait for Ciruel. Asriel, after hearing it was futile to hide his identity, had taken off the raincoat and given it to Patta to put it in the knapsack.

 **Raincoat 12 DEF**

 _A plastic raincoat for an adult. No liquid will ever touch you as long as you have this on!_

Asriel felt pretty anxious about the matter of meeting Ciruel, and if Patta or Frisk asked him to be honest about his wish to fulfill what he had told Graham he would do, Asriel would confess he greatly regretted it and wanted to go away now. However his usual earnestness had cornered him. The thought of disappointing Graham and stopping Ciruel from completing his dream was enough to make him stay despite his personal feelings.

 _"Am I really too gentle for my own good?"_ He wondered. He was sure Ananas had said something like that once, or maybe he had imagined it. Now he could start to see what she meant. He really was a fuzzy pushover to a point. He had a spine but it was not enough to make him not yield when it was truly inconvenient for him to accept to do something. All he wanted was to help people, and that was exactly his weakness.

He had no intention to start being rude or dismissive of anyone, but he made the decision to be a tad more assertive. May as well start now. When Patta was peering through the gate towards the door of the manor Asriel took the chance to approach to the security guard. "Why are you looking at me like that?" the monster asked.

"None of your concern" the man replied gruffly, not even bothering to look at Asriel now that he was right in front of him.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You are here. That is what is wrong. Do us all a favor and once Sir is done with you go back to whatever hole you crawled out from"

That actually hurt. Asriel had expected the man to be somewhat rude, but he hadn't expected such amount of dislike, especially when this was the first time he saw this man. He hadn't even said twenty words and he was already being glared at as if he was no more than scum!

Discouraged, Asriel returned with Patta and stared at the dirt. Asriel blinked quickly to get rid of the tears and took a few deep breaths. The anxiety and troubled feelings welling deep in his chest kept piling on but he managed to keep a lid on them. He wasn't going to throw a tantrum or start screaming his head off in outrage, he wouldn't!

…he really hoped he wouldn't.

Since Asriel tried to hide his discomfort from Patta, Frisk was the only one to notice Asriel had been about to cry. "Are you okay?" they asked in a whisper.

"I-I think I am" Asriel muttered, wiping whatever remaining tears he had with his sleeve. Frisk looked at him for a few moments more but didn't press on, as Asriel didn't seem to want to talk it further. They decided to wait until they were alone, at least.

"Ah, here he comes!" Patta suddenly said, stepping back from the gate. Indeed, the entrance door of the manor had opened and the owner of the place was walking towards the gate. There was nothing outstanding or intriguing about the man who was approaching, but Patta did at least feel some kind of attitude from him. It was the way Ciruel walked without hesitation; he seemed like a man that was very sure of himself. Patta really didn't like this man the more they knew about him. The fact he was wearing thick and cloudy glasses didn't help, as the eyes behind it were completely invisible. "...Frisk; is this guy really somebody we can trust?"

"I think we can" Frisk replied but they didn't seem very sure either "I don't know him very well"

"We are doomed"

Ciruel smiled warmly once he was close enough, and waved, Patta being the only one not to wave back. "Hello! My name is Ciruel Muscat the Seventh, and I welcome you three to my humble abode"

That was a greeting much more formal than what any of them expected. None of them were sure what else to do other than nod. Ciruel gestured grandiosely at the manor behind him, speaking as if he were a tour guide. "This is the renowned Muscat Manor, belonging to my family for many, many generations. This is where you will spend the night, or at least that is my hope. Please enjoy your stay"

"...Patta, I am not so sure about this anymore" Asriel mumbled. Ciruel, having heard that, raised his eyebrows and approached to the gate, looking at Asriel with curiosity.

"So this is the monster I have heard so much about! It is a pleasure to meet you, young man" Ciruel extended his hand, smiling calmly. Compared to the guard and to other people Asriel had met that day, Ciruel was a refreshing change. Starting to feel at ease Asriel shook Ciruel's hand, smiling too "This is the best day of my life! And you!" Ciruel did the same gesture to Patta "You are the person who has taken care of Asriel for a while already. He seems to be comfortable around you. How did you do that?"

"...by treating him like a person" Patta replied pointedly, mainly as a warning for Ciruel. He seemed to understand the warning pretty well, at least.

"That's great. And finally, you! Frisk!" Ciruel seemed to have some familiarity towards them "It has been a while since the last time I saw you. How have you been?" Frisk made a gesture that meant 'so-so', which was enough for Ciruel. "Still not talking to me very much, I see. Let's all not stand here all day, please, come in!" Ciruel opened the gate, inviting the group to come in, and led the way towards the main door of the manor.

Asriel could feel many pairs of eyes looking at him, and it was no surprise. Behind many of the windows of the manor he could see many faces, looking at him with what Asriel hoped was good-natured curiosity. The monster stared back at the faces but none of them looked away. "Why is there so many people in here?" Asriel asked, looking away.

"Those are my workers. Some maintain the manor working in perfect order, others deal with my finances, and others with the family businesses...you get the point" Ciruel narrowed his eyes and shouted: "Hey, all of you! Back to work!" most of the people went away from the windows, much to Asriel's relief.

"So do we need to stay here for the night?" Patta asked.

"That would be good. I promise you it will be worth it. You three will be treated like the guests of honor you are"

At least Ciruel was being friendly enough. That would alleviate a bit the distrust Patta felt towards him, but the intentions still remained to be seen. The group entered the manor. Lots of people around knew about Asriel's existence and could clearly see him; they hoped it wouldn't lead to any trouble.

* * *

 _Nothing goes like it should go, does it?_


	20. Blue SOUL

The inside of the Muscat Manor wasn't luxurious at all. While everything did have a bit of the shine of money, it was all rather modest. There were no expensive jars, beautiful paintings or velvet rugs anywhere; everything was designed for practicality and everyday use.

At least it all was clean and well cared for. Asriel and Frisk's head practically swiveled around, observing everything with a mix of astonishment and admiration. "This place is so big!" Asriel commented, trying to ignore the people who were looking at him from other rooms while he walked by.

"I only use half of the manor. The other half is where my employees live and where some of them work. To be honest this place is too big for my tastes" Ciruel frowned, directing the group to the stairs "I have already prepared rooms for you three. Follow me"

* * *

 _…_

 _…can even the worst person change for the better? I once told Asriel that could be done, and I still believe that. The problem is that sometimes changing for the better isn't possible, for one reason or another._

 _The world as a whole got really unlucky I didn't change quickly enough. While I made a lot of progress in those five days to be a better person, it was too late. I failed the last hurdle and because of that **everyone** had to pay the price. _

_Maybe it is because I had too much baggage piled up. The bigger our sins are, the hardest it is to overcome them. Asgore knows that, and he wasn't able to change in time because of them, letting his sins grow until they were too large to ignore. He…didn't kill all the humans that fell Underground by himself, but he did create the atmosphere and behaviors in everyone that led to all the children's deaths._

 _…he did kill Byssa, though._

 _Byssa went to Mt. Ebott searching for one thing: answers. She knew Celia disappeared long before Byssa was born. Yeah, instead of cousins in all the other timelines Celia somehow is the sister of one of Byssa's ancestors. I still don't understand how it is possible, it goes against all genetics and…well, either way. She fell Underground and stayed with Toriel._

 _Toriel was very happy to have Byssa with her, and while Byssa was scared of monsters, she was happy to have somebody who treated her nicely, unlike her parents, who were unpleasant in every existing universe. I think of everyone Byssa was the one most attached to Toriel. Her parents I…think she would have been willing to live with Toriel if it weren't because one day Byssa asked the question she had wanted to ask for a while:_

 _"Mama, do you know if other humans fell in here in the past?"_

 _Toriel didn't want to lie to Byssa. Not being honest with Cohen was what led him to get out of the Ruins, so maybe the opposite approach would work better? Toriel told Byssa everything she knew. She told her about Cohen, and about the SOUL and the female corpse found in the Ruins. Byssa quickly made the connection between that little girl's dead body and her missing old relative. Celia had been killed Underground._

 _Almost despairing Byssa demanded to know why humans were being killed, what had they done wrong? It was true humans had been the ones to lock monsters in the underground, but times had changed! There was no reason for killing humans for something that happened so long ago._

 _So Byssa blamed Asgore for it all._

 _Byssa wanted to get out of the Ruins. She promised Toriel she would return and that they would live happily once Byssa completed her mission. All she wanted was to meet Asgore, ask him why he was doing this, and tell him to stop because it was not good for a king to be doing something like that._

 _But the longer she walked through the Snowdin cold the angrier she got. What right did monsters have to kill humans anymore? It was so unfair! How did they dare! She quickly turned bitter and unfriendly, practically snarling at any monster that approached._

 _It all ended in a chain reaction. Her rage made her take it out on all monsters encountered. Since it was not long after Cohen's death, word of her presence spread through all the Underground. Monsters who were willing to try to take her SOUL went to fight her. The more monsters tried to fight her, the angrier she got, to the point where she screamed like a madwoman, demanding to meet Asgore. "Where's that king?! I want to see him now!"_

 _Many monsters who tried to take her SOUL got killed. Others ran away to tell Asgore of the mad child who wanted to see him. Everyone knew letting her go all the way to New Home was unthinkably dangerous. If she got even more furious the amount of casualties could get much larger._

 _Unfortunately for Asgore in that moment he wasn't in his castle, he was in Waterfall. Otherwise he wouldn't have dared to confront Byssa, instead staying in his throne room and thinking how to try to defuse the situation without taking any huge risks. The Royal Guard soldiers who informed him about Byssa pressured him, soon leading him where the girl would be at after some time._

 _Byssa didn't encounter any resistance. The rumor of her blood thirst made everyone in Snowdin stay indoors while she got through the town. To her credit she didn't direct her anger towards anyone who didn't bother her, only towards those who made clear intention of killing her or showed explicit support of Asgore's plan. However this was all different from Ananas, because at least Ananas tried to limit her fury._

 _Byssa arrived to Waterfall. The monsters led Asgore to where she was going to pass through, so there he had been waiting for her._

 _…I admit I don't like watching that part of the timelines. The sheer mix of fright, fury, grief and reminder of Asriel's own death is all visible in Asgore's eyes in that moment. It…is painful to watch. Byssa was the perfect example of what he had pictured the humans who had killed his son to look like, and despite that, he couldn't avoid feeling pity towards her. Asgore wasn't even willing at first to attack somebody who, until now, had shown no mercy towards many monsters._

 _"Why are you killing humans? What did we do to you now?!" Byssa cried, dust falling from her clothes every time she moved._

 _"Please calm down. Why not don't we go to the castle and-"_

 _"Monsters killed Celia. When she fell here in the Underground she was murdered! What did she do to deserve that, was it just because she was a human?! Was it that?!" Byssa was screaming as loud as she could, almost crying in despair. Now that she had the King of All Monsters right in front of her, the person who was said to have led monsters to kill humans for their SOULs, she was realizing the vastness of her recklessness. She couldn't back off now, that is what she thought. Asgore may be offering her to stop but she didn't trust him. She was sure he would kill her as soon as they were alone._

 _Yes, her opinion was that as long as they were in public Asgore would answer. Unfortunately for her it was going to be the opposite. Being in public is what led to her death. The crowd of monsters got progressively bigger, all of them telling Asgore to do something about the human who had killed so many monsters so far. "The next SOUL we need is right here! It is our chance!" they said over and over. The pressure of Byssa's piercing questions and of the monsters' demands for him to do something led Asgore to lose his patience._

 _He immediately made that trident of his appear, stabbing the ground with it. All monsters went silent. Byssa, although stunned at first, doubled over with bitter laughter. "So that's how it is going to be. You are now going to kill me, aren't you? You coward"_

 _The uproar from the monster crowd restarted immediately. How dare she call him a coward? This was unforgivable; Asgore was the one who was going to save them all. Knowing so many monsters were waiting for him to do something and that soon would lose their patience if he didn't take a decision Asgore sighed and raised his trident from the ground._

 _"I am so sorry for what I'm going to do"_

 _..._

 _...maybe some would consider an honor to be killed by Asgore. He didn't consider it a happy moment, as expected. Amidst the monster crowd's cheers and hopeful celebrations spawned from the gathering of the third human SOUL, Asgore took Byssa's body and the SOUL and returned to the castle with solemnity._

 _He regretted having declared war on humanity, but this incident increased his fear of disappointing everyone. He had once again seen the hope his people had, how much monsterkind was relying on him, and without realizing it he sank deeper into his own cowardice. It was too late to make everyone ignore what he had said so long ago, now that there were three SOULs hidden in the castle. If there had been no humans killed it would have been so much easier to do it, but now..._

 _...he truly saw nothing to do but continue forward no matter what his own wishes were._

 _I think that is what happened to me too. I saw no other solution than what I did, and now I see that was a huge mistake. I acted way too quickly and...ruined the whole timeline. Rebuilding it was easy, mending it together with my own memories was not so easy but it was done quickly, and now I'm working on the hard part: create a new timeline that is truly perfect._

 _..._

 _Three thousand four hundred seventy nine attempts so far. What can I say? I have almost no control on what happens in them._

* * *

Ciruel led the group up a spiral staircase, to an area that seemed to be composed mostly of living quarters. One side was clearly marked 'for employees only' and even had a velvet cord crossing the hallway, as if that were enough to stop anyone from trying to go in. "Please don't ever go over there. My employees value their privacy. Your rooms are over here" Ciruel pointed at three doors at the end of the hallway. Frisk went forward and opened the door, showing the inside. It actually resembled the rooms Graham's inn had, somehow.

"Nice. Thank you" Patta nodded.

"But before you are free to go in there are a couple matters I'd like to talk about. First, dinner shall be served in a couple hours. It will just be the four of us; tonight most of my employees will eat after us. I'll come to bring you to the dining room when it's time"

"What will dinner be?" Asriel asked, actually looking pretty enthusiastic about the perspective of some more food.

"Oh, you will see. I'm already preparing some treats for dinner" the scholar said. Patta had the feeling he was winking impishly, but those glasses of his really made it impossible to know for sure.

"Great. What else do you want to talk about?" Patta inquired. Ciruel stepped back, smiling awkwardly.

"I don't mean to sound rude or demeaning in any way, but could you two please take a bath?" Ciruel languidly gestured at Patta and Asriel "You two reek. Your rooms have private bathrooms, go use them"

Asriel lowered his gaze to the floor, blushing slightly. Nobody had mentioned such thing so far, neither to him or Patta. The adult didn't seem to be amused either, but didn't make any comment about that. "Sure, I suppose. Now that I think about that it must be because of our clothes. Neither Asriel or I have clothes other than these ones"

"I would have lent Asriel some of mine if he wanted" Frisk muttered, earning a grateful look from Asriel "But I don't have more clothes here. They are back at home"

Ciruel shook his head, practically standing against the wall and far from Patta and Asriel. "Then I suppose neither of you have washed them in a while. That is so gross! You could have bought new ones, you know"

"We have no money for that!" Patta was admittedly ashamed and wanted this to be over as soon as possible so he could retreat into his room and away of Ciruel. The scholar raised his eyebrows, thoughtful.

"That's a problem. I'll tell you what, both of you give me your clothing sizes and I'll get you two some new clothes for tonight. Take it as a gift to celebrate your stay! And hey, why don't I add some pajamas to the deal too? Yes, that will be good..." Ciruel started mumbling to himself, considering what else could be done for his guests.

Patta had the feeling Ciruel was not going to accept a no as an answer, even if this was definitely unorthodox and a tad disrespectful. If they wanted some peace then yielding would be the quickest way to be done with that.

Once Ciruel had the requested data he bowed slightly. "Excellent! Say, why don't I ask your old clothes to be washed while you two are asleep tonight? Tomorrow you will have the comfort of having familiar clothes and won't offend anybody's sense of smell"

Asriel still didn't say anything to that. He had stayed silent most of the time, self-conscious and embarrassed. Usually the stuff Ciruel had said and asked wouldn't have bothered him as much, but somehow after the stressing day he had so far he felt Ciruel was once another unwelcome person in his time over the surface. All had done until now was nod, until that moment. His annoyance started to seep into his voice "If we say yes will you leave us alone?" Ciruel didn't reply to Asriel's question, choosing to shrug instead.

It took a while and accepting Ciruel's continuous request for him to be satisfied and go away. "Over there to the right is my personal study. That's where I spend most of my time, so if you need anything please don't be afraid to visit me there" he said while he was walking away.

"Yes, thank you" Asriel muttered, opening the door behind him. Before he went inside he was stopped by Patta. The adult felt they had to say something after Ciruel's behavior.

"Asriel, don't take anything he said too personal, okay?"

"That's not what is bothering me" Asriel replied sullenly.

"Then what is it?"

Asriel waited a moment before answering. He didn't feel ready to tell Patta the truth, but he couldn't stay silent, either. "S-Sorry, this just hasn't been a good day. I need some time alone" he said before closing the door.

Patta and Frisk exchanged a glance, Frisk shrugging with an expression of worry in their face. Something was really bothering Asriel and neither of them was sure what it was, and to be frank neither of them knew very well how to deal with it. Patta had no real experience with children, and Frisk, while easy to talk to, felt this was something Asriel shouldn't be pressured to reveal.

"It will all be okay. Let's not force him to talk to us if he isn't ready to. I think...that is how it is done" Patta said before entering their room, leaving Frisk alone in the hallway. Frisk sighed, now understanding coming to Ciruel's manor really was a mistake.

Nobody was going to be happy during their stay, at least for that day. That much was obvious now.


	21. Breakdown

Thankfully Ciruel left his honor guests alone for a couple hours. They did need the time to calm down and not want to give Ciruel a black eye as soon as they left the rooms, that would be quite a faux-pas and they knew it. Worried for Asriel, Patta had gone to talk to him after an hour.

The monster child didn't leave the room yet, but at least he listened to Patta through the door. "Think you'll be able to resist for tonight? I know you want to leave – I would like to leave, too – but there are a few things I'd like to ask him. It shouldn't take long" Asriel had accepted that, although not without remarking Ciruel was not a very pleasant person.

"I'm nervous, Patta. What if something happens during the dinner?" Asriel really wanted reassurance there wouldn't be a disaster later, which was something Patta couldn't guarantee.

"I don't know. Do you want me to say you aren't in mood and would rather I to bring you food here?"

"...I will go. I can't stay holed up in here, right?" he really didn't sound sure about that. There was nothing they could do other than hoping for the better.

The clothes Ciruel had bought for them two of them arrived. Patta had to admit they were glad to have a new suit. This was the kind of clothing they wouldn't usually bother to buy because there was no need for that. Asriel, though, felt those were pretty constricting, at least compared to the oversized sweaters he used to wear. The pajamas were nice enough, so it wasn't all bad. Ciruel, always trying very hard to please, had brought a sewing box with him when he brought Asriel's new clothes. "Got a tail?" he had asked with his usual flippant tone.

"Eh?"

"Pants up here over the surface don't tend to come with holes for tails, so that will have to be solved. Here are some buttons, a needle...you know to sew?"

He didn't, but before he could say anything a voice sounded from over the hall, saying something to Ciruel. "Wait! Don't do that yet!" the scholar replied to that person and shoved the little box that held everything onto his hands "Sorry, young man, you'll have to learn right now. I would do this myself but there's an urgent matter to deal with. Sorry!" to his credit, at least Ciruel seemed truly sorry for not being able to do it. After apologizing one last time Ciruel walked away, leaving Asriel to deal with this new situation.

It took him a while but he managed to peel off all the golden flower seeds from his fur. Asriel put all the seeds on the container that once held the Apple Bombs, planning to take those for his father's garden.

He had somehow managed to cut away half of the seat of the pants before he got distracted. He had too many problems in his mind to focus properly. The events of that day, especially the moments he had felt the most affected emotionally, kept replaying. Mahiru, Cohen, Selby, Cam, Byssa, that random guard, Ciruel...Asriel didn't hate them. He was too young and kindhearted to really keep true hate in his heart, but he couldn't deny he felt some animosity against them, even towards Byssa, although she had apologized and tried to cheer him up.

It didn't take long for him to pinpoint exactly why he was so bothered about that: in one day he had met more people who either didn't see him as a person or outright mistreated him – and as far as he could see it was only because he was a monster. Compared to the amount of people who had accepted him, the chances monsters could live with humans in peace and harmony seemed lower and lower.

Asriel had no idea how monsters were supposed to deal with that.

"Everything will be okay. It is just a bad day. Humans aren't all so bad; it should all be okay" Asriel muttered, leaving the pants aside and lying on the bed "T-There's nothing to be scared about. Big boys don't cry, stop thinking about this, it will all be okay!"

The situation wasn't as bad as he had thought it was. The dinner with Ciruel would go fine, surely it would! Asriel stared at the ceiling, repeating to himself over and over there was no reason to be worried about. When Asriel rolled on the bed, trying to find a more comfortable position, he felt something digging onto his belly. He picked up the object he had left on the bed: it was Patta's cellphone.

Asriel turned it on, idly opening the video function. There was nothing he wanted to film; he didn't feel in mood for that. There was nothing to do. Remembering something, Asriel opened the folder to check the amount of videos and photos he had taken so far. According to the information in the phone he had already filled half of the available memory and it was no surprise! In random moments Asriel always took out the phone and used the function Patta had showed him, as an attempt to record the entire journey. His hobby sure was taking a toll to the cellphone, but it was all for a good reason.

Patta would need something to remember everyone.

Feeling better, Asriel sat to continue sewing. With some luck the pants wouldn't be completely ruined and he would be comfortable - "Ow!" – But right now all he wanted was to stop pricking his fingers with the needle. Good thing monsters didn't bleed, but it still _hurt._

-ooooo-

"Everyone, it is dinner time! Are you three ready?" Ciruel exclaimed, knocking on the bedroom doors cheerfully. He had the telltale enthusiasm that emerged from having prepared something he knew would enjoy, and frankly he couldn't wait to see Asriel's expression. This was great! A monster over the surface, this was truly the best night of his life!

Patta, Frisk and Asriel opened their doors and stepped out of the hallway. Frisk was the only one who wasn't dressed formally, but the others were prepared for the dinner. Ciruel practically beamed with pride. "You all look great! Frisk, one of these days I'll buy you a suit too, okay? For now let's go and enjoy the food" Ciruel walked away from the rest, leading the way towards the dining room.

Asriel, Patta and Frisk walked together in uncomfortable silence, Asriel trying to stop the suit jacket from being so tight. His fur was still fluffy from having dried it hurriedly but at least he was presentable. "Never used a suit before?" Patta asked and Asriel shook his head as response "Must be the starch. You'll get used to the stiff clothes".

The dining room had a great view of the backyard at night. They could all see the silhouette of what seemed to be greenhouses and to the right there was a fence. From time to time noises resembling bleating could be heard outside. Ciruel indicated everyone where to sit and ordered the food to be brought.

Any reticence Patta may have about the quality of the dinner was gone when the food was brought in. The dishes filled with food soon were placed in front of Ciruel, Patta and Frisk. "Do you all like what you see?" Ciruel asked with pride. Frisk gave thumbs up while Patta started poking everything with approval.

"Mine isn't here yet" Asriel piped up, eyeing everyone else's food.

"That is because I ordered something special to be brought to you. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the treats from my gardens"

"From your gardens?" Before Ciruel could say any further the doors to the kitchen opened and a servant brought Asriel's food while Ciruel nodded in approval. Patta and Frisk stopped eating in astonishment.

There were several plates but the contents were completely different to the rest of the table. Different types of flowers, mushrooms of varied shapes, and grass carefully piled, all distributed on plates. While it was a large amount of "food", it wasn't at all what anybody expected to see. "Eeeeh..." Asriel mumbled.

"This all has been harvested from my garden less than an hour ago. Everything is perfectly fresh and I guarantee it is delicious. Please enjoy, young man" Ciruel spoke with a smile as if everything was just peachy.

"...do you think this stuff is edible, Patta?" Asriel whispered, poking one of the mushrooms with a claw "I mean, I don't want _grass and flowers_ for dinner..." Patta completely understood the meaning of the tone. Asriel really wanted to protest but didn't want to come across as rude to somebody who was making an effort to be hospitable. Frisk was at a loss of words, so they couldn't do anything.

Luckily, while Patta had been trying their best to be courteous, this was something they weren't willing to see just go. "What's the meaning of this, Ciruel?"

"What do you mean?" the scholar tilted his head. Patta smiled tensely, taking the plates Asriel had.

"Do you seriously think this is appropriate food to serve to a guest? Because in my opinion this seems more insulting than welcoming"

Ciruel looked away, having the grace to look bashful for that. "I thought this was something Asriel would like. My goats love this stuff, so I thought..."

That explained it. Patta sighed, pushing all the plates towards Ciruel. "How do I say this...Asriel looks like a goat but he doesn't eat like a goat. It'd be great if you brought real food here"

"Does it have to be vegetarian? Because I didn't prepare anything vegetarian"

Asriel's shoulders drooped; relieved to hear he was going to get something else. Patta pointed at their own food. "Give some of this to Asriel and all will be forgiven"

"That can be arranged" Ciruel pressed a nearby button. It seemed to be a machine installed in the table, somehow "Nadine? Nadine, please bring a portion of the dinner for our monster guest"

"I will, Sir" a female voice crackled from the speaker.

"My most sincere apologies for what happened, young man. I didn't know you were an omnivore" Ciruel's demeanor had changed, taking a more serious tone. He learned forward, placing his chin on his hands, and stared at Asriel through his foggy glasses "Would you say your omnivore tendencies come from evolutionary traits given to you by a monster ancestor with predatory instincts?"

"What?" Asriel, befuddled, looked at Patta for help. To his dismay he found Patta staring at him with interest, not as blatantly as Ciruel, but it was undeniable they were waiting too for an answer. Frisk wasn't able to help, either, they hadn't understood the question. They just shrugged as if saying 'answer anything'; it was all up to Asriel. "...I don't know?"

Ciruel leaned back in his seat "Oh, that's a shame. Say, I reckon I have seen drawings of a monster with a certain resemblance to you. Does the name Asgore Dreemurr sound familiar to you in any-"

"Excuse me, Sir"

A servant had entered the dining room, approaching Ciruel and whispering an urgent message to him. The scholar stood up, groaning. "Not again! I'll get going" the servant left while Ciruel looked at his guests "I'll be back in ten minutes. Please enjoy your food"

As soon as he left the room Frisk and Patta started devouring their portions while Asriel awkwardly waited for his dinner to arrive. It didn't take long for one of Ciruel's workers, Nadine, to peek into the room. "Hello? Where's Sir?"

"He had to go do something for now" Patta informed, focused on their food. That's why they didn't notice Nadine's eyes stopping on Asriel for a moment. The way she looked at him gave Frisk a bad vibe. It was gone quickly, though, replaced by a very fake submissive expression that didn't help to calm them down. She approached, bringing Asriel's dinner.

"I'm sorry, we ran out of plates. This is the only thing we had left" she said sweetly, placing in front of Asriel what she brought. It was indeed the same food Patta and Frisk had been served, but it had been all mashed together and mixed into a bowl for dog food, a large red plastic object that irradiated such a condescending aura Patta, horrified, stood up immediately. Frisk, also astonished, just sat there, their mouth hanging wide open.

"What the hell is this joke?!"

Nadine's expression wavered for a moment before bowing exaggeratedly. Patta knew very well this was meant to be mocking towards them. "Please forgive us, us servants could do nothing about this, there's nothing else we can serve it on. You don't mind it, riii-ight?" she leaned towards Asriel.

Asriel stared at her with disbelief. The meaning of the dog bowl didn't go unnoticed to him, he was speechless. The fact Nadine could talk to him without a hint of remorse or feeling sorry in the slightest was extremely disheartening.

Nadine straightened up while Patta approached, furious. "Go away, now!"

"What's the problem? He doesn't mind, does he? He knows his place" Nadine extended her hand and scratched Asriel behind his ear like he were no more than a mutt, even applying way too much force "Be a good boy and eat. Who is a good boy? It won't be you if you don't eat"

"Don't touch him!" Before Patta could realize what they were doing they slapped Nadine's hand away. When they noticed what they had just done...there was no guilt or shame in their expression. Nadine grabbed her wrist, glaring at Patta.

"...I see. You know nothing about monsters. A foreigner like you can't know about the legend. They got buried underground for a reason. Monsters are not good"

"I said: go away!" Patta growled, stomping forward. Nadine, knowing she wasn't going to win by standing around, slowly stepped back, always looking at Patta. They managed to get her to the door of the dining room, where she finally turned around and walked away with a cart. Right on it there were plates, all of them with signs of having been used very recently.

The premeditation of her behavior made Patta clench their fists in disgust. They glared down the hall, muttering curses nonstop for almost a full minute, before turning around "Asriel, I know this may be-" neither Asriel nor Frisk were there anymore "What the..."

-ooooo-

Asriel had run away, crying.

All he wanted was to hide, not see anyone for a while, cry until he couldn't cry anymore. He had finally reached the breaking point. Shame, rage, and over all that a longing for the safety of his home filled him. Asriel ran away from the dining room just when Patta had been shooing Nadine away, but it didn't go unnoticed. Frisk, who until that point had been almost completely still on their chair, managed to close their mouth and follow Asriel. "Azzy! Wait!" they yelled, trying to reach Asriel.

The monster ignored Frisk, running as fast as he could. The entrance door of the manor was right there, he ran towards it and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. It seemed Ciruel or one of its employees had locked it, most likely for the safety of everything inside the place, but in Asriel's current emotional state he was sure it had been done on purpose to keep him inside the manor. He hit the door a few times with his fist, still crying. "Azzy!" Frisk's voice sounded closer, startling Asriel. He didn't want to see anyone, and since going outside was not an option he had to go the second best option: the room Ciruel said was his for the night.

Asriel ran to the end of the hallway and to the stairs, climbing them as fast as possible. The time he had spent hitting the door was enough for Frisk to almost reach Asriel, they were practically behind him. The children reached the bedrooms, Asriel opening the door of his bedroom and trying to close it behind him. Frisk, being so close, managed to hold it open while Asriel crawled under the bed without even turning on the light of the room. It was the smallest space he could find, and the darkness was soothing in a way. That confined space smelled of dirt and felt cold, but he didn't care.

It reminded him of the Underground.

"Azzy!" Frisk repeated, trying to catch their breath. Now that Asriel was under the bed it was unlikely he'd run away again "It's all okay..."

"Leave me alone!" Asriel yelled between sobs. Frisk stopped, looking around as if they expected somebody to deal with this, because although they wanted Asriel to calm down they weren't sure how to do it. Frisk returned to the door and peered into the hallway, they didn't want to leave Asriel alone, either, but maybe Patta was more prepared for this.

"Help! Patta, help!" They really hoped Patta was in a place of the manor where they would hear Frisk's calls. Right now Patta would be the only other person would like to see approaching to Asriel. Luckily, once Patta had realized the children had left the dining room, they had gone around. When Frisk called they were on the foot of the staircase, as Patta had decided to go check the bedrooms.

When they heard Frisk's call it didn't take more than a few seconds for them to arrive. Patta's mind had immediately jumped to how Asriel had gone missing during the rain, so when they discovered Asriel was inside his room they let out a sigh of relief. "How is he?"

"It affected him" Frisk answered. That was enough for Patta. Asriel was an empathetic kid, something as rude and degrading as what Nadine and the servants did would hurt his feelings a lot. Patta sat to the side of the bed and peered under it, finding Asriel huddled against the wall and still crying. His sobs were almost heartbreaking. "Don't pay attention to her. She did all that just to rile you up"

The sobs diminished, but Asriel still didn't come out. "What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anyt-"

"What did I do wrong?! Why am I being treated like this?! I don't understand! Why is this happening to me?!" although Asriel wasn't crying anymore, his voice sounded like he could break down in any moment.

"It's not y-"

"Is it the war? Are people going to be scared of monsters because of that?! That isn't my fault, why do I have to be treated like I had anything to do with that?!"

Muffled thumping sounds came from under the bed. It seemed Asriel was hitting the floor with his fists. Patta knew there was no pretty way to point how many humans would react to monsters just because they were monsters. In the Underground it was unlikely Asriel had even seen or heard of something like this, and mere tales about the war wouldn't have been enough to convey the enormity of the ill intention some humans could have. It was one thing to hear it and another thing to feel it in person.

From all Asriel had told Patta it seemed monsters tended to be very nice, maybe even naively so. It was unavoidable there'd be people in the world who would take advantage of that to hurt them, physically, emotionally or psychologically. That was the reality of the world.

Patta decided to be blunt. "It's because you are a monster. There's no other reason"

"I know that!" Asriel shouted as if he wanted to say 'no, duh!' but judged that was too rude "Everything that happens is because I'm a monster. You can't know how it feels!" Patta crassly snorted at that. While it was true they hadn't undergone such extensive persecution, it was practically impossible for any person to not to be treated badly for something like physical appearance. Asriel ignored that and continued yelling, his voice growing shrill with all the frustration he had kept bottled that day "Just today I have been humiliated, I got almost kidnapped, I got almost murdered-"

"What?!" That got Patta's attention immediately. Asriel didn't stop, though.

"-and there's nothing I can do about any of that. I can't do anything about it! And now I'll return to the Underground and see everyone hoping to return to the surface while I know if we ever get out this is how we'll all get treated!"

"You can't let-" Patta was starting to feel pretty annoyed Asriel was interrupting him every time they tried to say something.

"I'm the Prince of All Monsters. In a decade I'll be the king. What will I do? Just tell everyone staying where we are will be better than returning to the surface? I'll have to destroy everyone's hopes! I can't do that!"

"You don't have to break anyone's hope!" Patta said that very firmly. Better to get a word in before Asriel continued spouting all that hopelessness. The monster child was silent for a moment and then shouted:

"Then tell me what I should do!"

Patta took a deep breath, thoughtful. They took their time to order their thoughts; Asriel was relying on them to give an answer. They felt that, whatever they answered now, could affect Asriel's emotional state for a long while. Patta needed to choose their words carefully; there was no room for mistake. Once they composed what they wanted to say, they brought their hand under the bed and found Asriel, putting their hand on the area between his shoulder blades in an attempt to comfort him. Asriel was quivering, greatly upset; Patta could feel it even through the stiff fabric of the formal clothes Ciruel had bought for Asriel.

"Dunno. I'm not a prince and I'm not shouldering anyone's hopes but mine, and mine are pretty recent, so it isn't like I have lots of experience about this"

"You don't know what I could do?" Asriel sounded very dispirited.

Patta gripped Asriel's shoulder "I think I'm not in a position to tell you what to do, but if you want my opinion then here it goes: don't give up" Asriel sniffed and turned his head around, peering towards where Patta was sitting. Patta continued: "You know something admirable about humans? Humanity doesn't give up. If it wants to achieve something then it will, no matter how long it takes. It is possible monsters and humans won't get along very well at first, but with time both will learn to tolerate each other. I don't know how long it'll take, but it can be done"

"I'm scared, Patta. I'm afraid of what could happen"

"It's okay to be scared, but many times it's not good to let that fear stop you. You'll be the Prince of All Monsters. Be brave, for the sake of monsterkind. I know you'll be able to help create a time of peace and prosperity for everyone, I'm sure you will"

"I don't know if I can be brave" Asriel said mutedly.

"It's okay to feel doubts. Forget about this for now. Tomorrow will be a better day, you'll be back at home and it will all be okay" Patta took their hand out from under the bed and stood up "You must be hungry. Want me to bring you dinner – a real dinner, not the insult you received?"

Asriel's reply was affirmative, they hadn't eaten at all that night and quite frankly, now that he had exhausted himself crying, he realized he was starving. Frisk, who had been waiting outside, turned around with anxiety when Patta exited the bedroom. It was obvious they had been waiting for Patta to inform them about Asriel. "They'll be alright. Frisk, do me a favor: don't leave Asriel alone, okay?" Frisk nodded and accepted the mission with determination, going back into the bedroom. Patta, a bit calmer now that they made sure Asriel was going to have a friendly presence with him, went back to the dining room to get food for Asriel and Frisk. Patta wasn't hungry anymore but surely the children would want something to fill their stomachs.

When Patta was close to the dining room door it opened. "Oh, there you are" Ciruel said, appearing surprised "The children and you ate quite fast, I didn't take that long to return-" Ciruel was silenced when Patta scowled quite frighteningly, now that they had the owner of the manor right in front of them, they knew what they wanted to do now.

"Your servants have done something unforgivable: they insulted Asriel and treated him as if he were nothing more than a dog! What do you have to say to that?"

Ciruel stepped back, aghast. "What?" It didn't take long for Patta to describe everything that had happened after Ciruel left the dining room. He made special emphasis on how much pain it had caused to Asriel, and even insinuated Ciruel may have something to do with Nadine's behavior. The accusation made Ciruel scowl coldly, demanding Patta to shut up immediately. "I would never risk offending a monster. Don't say that ever again" Still, he thanked Patta profusely for informing him about all that, and promised he would deal with it.

After making sure Patta was taking plates with food back to the bedrooms Ciruel walked to a communicator embedded in the wall and pressed a button, broadcasting his words everywhere in the manor:

"All employees must come to the foyer in five minutes. There's a matter of extreme importance to discuss. Anyone who doesn't come will be immediately fired"

-ooooo-

Almost thirty employees were gathered in the foyer. Ciruel, looking at them with coldness, paced from one side to another. Everyone present knew there was something unusual going on, last time Ciruel called for all employees at the same time had been years in the past. "I'm extremely disappointed of all of you"

There were murmurs for a moment before Ciruel cleared his throat quite loudly, an obvious sign they should shut up and listen. "We all know there are special guests tonight. I don't exaggerate when I say they may be the most important guests I ever had. They symbolize the culmination of the work of the Muscat family! Yet the monster, the one person who can validate the work and reason to live of generations of ancestors bearing my name, has been treated unacceptably" Ciruel started narrating everything Patta had told him, omitting Nadine's name for now.

Most of the employees were outraged at Ciruel's words. "That's horrible!" "We had nothing to do with that" "Nobody would be so callous, right?" That soothed some of Ciruel's concerns. They sounded pretty sincere; maybe it was likely the incident has only been Nadine's idea. Ciruel cleared his throat again, getting everyone's attention.

"Fortunately I have the name of the person who did all that. Nadine, please leave now. You are fired"

Everyone turned to look at Nadine, most of them with expressions of disgust. Nadine opened her mouth, babbling for a moment before managing to form coherent words. "Why?! It's just a monster, why do we care what happens to them?"

"There are no excuses! Monsters are people too, you should know that. Who cares what supposedly happened in the past? What matters is the present, and you have shown to not to deserve to work in this place. You may leave now"

Nadine closed her eyes, furious, but didn't protest. Instead she stomped out, being one of the employees who didn't live in the manor. Once she was gone Ciruel turned to the rest. "I'll ask this now: if you have any kind of problem with the monster that is in this house right now please notify me now. You'll be excused of any work that may be done here and it won't have to go any further than this. There's no problem, really"

Only three employees came to Ciruel and asked him to let them go away for now, the rest staying in the foyer. While Ciruel worked with those three employees what their duties for the next day would be, the rest of the people talked between them what had happened.

"I never thought Nadine would do that"

"She was never the type to think twice before acting"

"But why did she do it? Was it because of the war legend? That was long ago, and I don't think humans are all innocent about that"

"Sir's grandmother, the fifth Ciruel, once told me she had found out proof humans started the war while monsters suffered the brunt of our hate"

"That kid must be so scared of humans now!"

"Is it a kid?"

"He's of Frisk's size and arrived with the same type of sweater they have. I think he's eight years old or so"

"Is the monster even a boy?"

"I heard him speak; he sounded like a boy to me. Or maybe a girl, I don't know"

"I feel like I should apologize to him. Nadine was too cruel, he must be crying right now"

"We should do something for him"

"Think that person the monster arrived with will let us approach him?"

"After what Nadine did? No way!"

"Then let's do something else"

"How about a gift? Let's all pool together some money and let's buy something he could like. The stores should be open for a couple hours more"

"Do we tell Sir?"

"No, let's do this by ourselves. It'll be better that way"

"What will we buy? Plush animals?"

"He already looks like one. Let's think of something else"

"...candy. All kids like candy"

"Yeah! We all could pool together enough money to buy lots of candy. Between the twenty-four of us the kid will receive lots and lots of teeth-rotting sugar. That'll be nice!"

"Can he eat chocolate? I don't think goats can eat chocolate"

"Let's buy some, just in case"

And so it was decided. The employees of Muscat Manor would do their best to make amends with Asriel. All they hoped was that they would be able to give that monster their gift of apology...and that he wouldn't be traumatized by the whole ordeal with Nadine.


	22. The Flippant Scholar

"Aaaand...there we go! Finally, we're done" Patta leaned against the wall, dusting their hands off and contemplating their work.

While Asriel ate his dinner Frisk suggested to accompany Asriel the whole night, saying that would make the monster feel safer. When asked if he would like that Asriel shrugged noncommittally, but if he had been forced to say what he really felt he would have practically begged Patta and Frisk to stay with him. After his behavior when he was under the bed Asriel was feeling pretty self-conscious, thinking he had acted in a way a child of his age shouldn't act. For a moment he wondered what Toriel or Asgore would say if they ever heard about that moment of weakness, and hurriedly pushed those thoughts away.

Since Asriel didn't answer Patta decided to take the matter in their own hands. They didn't want to leave Asriel all alone in that bedroom, not after what had happened during the dinner. The solution Patta proposed was simple: bring the mattresses from their bed and Frisk's bed and lay them onto the floor. The bedroom given by Ciruel was pretty large; the two mattresses would fit and leave enough space for anyone to walk.

Once the mattresses were brought with Frisk's help and placed in Asriel's bedroom Patta examined the door handle, finding the lock, and tested it. It worked perfectly. "Okay, listen up, kids. I'm going to see Ciruel and talk to him about some stuff. Stay here, and Frisk, don't leave Asriel alone, alright?" Frisk nodded with determination, they weren't planning to be away of Asriel for the rest of the night, either way. Patta smiled and closed the door, leaving it unlocked for now.

Frisk and Asriel ate in silence for a few minutes after Patta left. The children started to relax, enjoying each other's company. Patta was a nice person, Asriel really liked them, but he felt more at ease with Frisk. They were both of the same age, after all.

"You really cried a lot" Frisk commented. Asriel would have sunk his head into the neck of his sweater if he were still wearing it; the formal suit Ciruel had given him didn't allow such actions.

"...I was very upset. I shouldn't have acted like that" Asriel muttered.

"It's okay to cry. It happened so fast I didn't even know what to say"

"It's not your fault"

Frisk stood up from their mattress and moved to sit to Asriel's side. The monster was, without a doubt, the best friend they ever had, even if they had known him just for such a short time. "Have you ever been in a school?" Frisk asked, willing to distract Asriel for what had happened. Asriel tilted his head at the sudden question, mildly intrigued.

"There's a school in the Underground but I don't go there. Mom is my teacher" he said wistfully "Have you been in one?"

"Never. I don't even know how I learned to read. Maybe my parents taught me before I found myself in the streets" Frisk didn't sound bothered. Maybe all the years that had passed had dulled any sort of grief they could feel about their missing parents "Celia taught me a lot of stuff! She used to go to school, learned many things and then taught me everything she knew.

She is smart, I don't think I would know so many things if it hadn't been for her"

Asriel swallowed a bite of food, nervous. Now that Frisk was bringing up Celia this could be his chance to tell them what was going to happen to her. "Y-You are pretty close to her, aren't you?"

Frisk tilted their head. "I think I am. She is my friend; I have been living with her for a year"

"Frisk, she...um...she..." Asriel stared into his plate, trying to find the right words. Frisk, although slowly growing more concerned due to Asriel's hesitation, didn't say anything "She is going to live with her cousin"

* * *

 _There we go. It took me quite a while to pinpoint it, but this is the exact moment the fate of the world was changed. If a single one of the timelines had been similar to mine my work would be much easier, but looks like...this timeline was way too damaged for it to spawn similar copies._

 _Actions have consequences._

* * *

Asriel looked at Frisk, His friend had barely changed their expression, but Asriel could notice Frisk had been caught by surprise by the sudden news. It took a moment for them to say something. "That is okay. We can still be friends. I can visit her, we can still play..."

"No, Frisk, she is moving away from the city. I-I don't know where they'll go but she isn't g-going to be around anymore"

Asriel could see Frisk was trying very hard to keep a neutral expression, as if they didn't want to let anyone see how they truly felt. Maybe that was just their personality, or maybe as a knee-jerk reaction Frisk was trying to suppress any signs of being hurt by their friend leaving. "...Celia is leaving the city? Why? If she leaves then who will I live with?"

Asriel left aside his food and got closer to Frisk. "You lived alone until she came along, right?"

"After so long living with her I can't imagine living alone again. It was nice to have somebody to be with. I don't think I can be alone again..."

"Why don't you go with them?"

"I told you, I don't want to live with her. She has her family now, I can't just go and join them" Frisk shook their head, anxious "Celia is my only friend, if she goes away I will be alone again..."

"What about Graham? Annie? Everyone else you know?"

"They are not friends! Celia was different, she was somebody who was like me, and nobody else knows how it is for a kid to live alone out there!" Frisk's breathing started to speed up "I'm tired of everything, I want to go with Celia but if I do I'll just get in the way, I can't do that to her, what will I-"

"Frisk!" Asriel startled Frisk, who stopped their increasingly quicker talk. That was enough, as they realized they had been starting to lose control of their emotions. Frisk struggled to make their neutral expression for a moment but failed miserably, they couldn't hide how much this had affected them "It'll be okay"

As if that had been all Asriel needed to say to calm Frisk down the kid slowly managed to get their emotions under control. "Right. Celia is leaving. I'll be alone but I'll be okay" they raised their head, staring at the ceiling with melancholy "It's so sudden...I wish I had some time to prepare. I'm happy for Celia, she'll finally be back with her family and that is great, but I can't avoid feeling jealous"

"You can go with them. Byssa said she didn't want to offer because you may not want to leave the city, but if you want to..."

"No, I don't want to live with her. She is my friend but having her as family would be a bit weird. Azzy, I'd be okay with living alone if at least I'm able to visit a friend, but now that she is going away...that is why I'm upset. She was my only friend"

Asriel, satisfied now that Frisk seemed to be better, took his food again. Frisk wasn't done, though. "No, that is wrong. You are my friend too, Azzy" Asriel blushed slightly but nodded. What had happened in the dinner seemed a tad unreal by now, as if it had happened to someone else. Maybe it was the comfort of being with someone he liked and trusted "I have made my mind! Azzy, let me go with you"

Now it was Asriel's turn to be surprised. "Wait, what?"

"Let me go with you into the Underground!"

Both unbridled joy and stunned disbelief invaded Asriel "Are you serious, Frisk?"

"Yes! I want to go with you"

Asriel immediately wanted to reply with an immediate and overjoyed 'Yes', but he managed to rein in that impulse. "Frisk, the Barrier exists! You wouldn't be able to ever leave, not until we break it and that could take centuries!"

"I don't care. I have no reason to be in this city. I'm tired of living alone in a ruined house; I'm tired of having to survive from Graham's charity. I can't go back to how it was before Celia came along, not after knowing what it is to be with a friend. _You_ are my best friend, Azzy. Please, let me go with you"

"You may not ever see a human again"

"I don't care! I told you, I don't like humanity very much. There are many that are good, but when you think about it nobody has done anything to help me. It won't matter if I leave the city"

"But are you really okay with that? Are you okay with living among monsters?" It was surprisingly hard for Asriel to not to smile widely and accept Frisk to come with him, but he wanted to make sure Frisk was completely sure about what they were doing. Although he knew it was going to be a disappointment if Frisk changed their mind, Asriel cared more about them not doing something they'd later regret than about his own happiness.

"If monsters are as good as you are I think I'll have no problems. I could go there, live by myself...and we would see each other every day! We can continue being friends, we can play, and I can meet your parents..." Frisk was getting visibly thrilled "Azzy, it will be weird for me to be in a place other than this city, and it is true I may not see a human ever again, but despite that, if monsters are as nice as you have said they are, and I have you as my friend...

...I think I could be happy in the Underground"

That was enough for Asriel. He finally showed the excited grin he had wanted to show for a while already, and said with so much happiness Frisk felt their own spirits lift: "Yes. Yes!"

It was the beginning of a new life. Frisk knew very well they were getting into a place it was likely they wouldn't ever leave, but they didn't mind. They truly believed that, as long as Asriel was by their side, they would be happy, and Asriel was completely willing to do it.

Asriel was glad to know they would be able to see Frisk and continue their friendship, although he didn't know how Frisk where Frisk would live or with who, that was something Toriel would deal with, that is, if she didn't outright adopt Frisk immediately as soon as they arrived.

For a moment Asriel considered inviting Patta into the Underground, but he quickly threw that idea out. Patta wasn't like Frisk; Patta had family, newfound hopes and dreams, a job, a place to return to. They wouldn't ever go into the Underground if it means abandoning all that. Although Asriel would miss Patta, he wasn't going to tear them away of all that.

* * *

 _...yeah. I wouldn't have accepted. I had so many plans, stuff I wanted to do, and going Underground didn't fit any of that. It isn't like I got here because I wanted. I got here because...there was no more option, I suppose._

* * *

-ooooo-

The inside of Ciruel's studio was a large room with a fireplace and many shelves lining the walls, all of them filled with thick books that seemed to be focused about myths, legends and a variety of topics related to monsters.

Patta had gone with Ciruel there just to spend some time. Their plan was to make Ciruel loosen his tongue so he would answer a single question he had. Just in case it was a sensitive topic Patta had decided to talk about other stuff, make Ciruel be relaxed, all so he wouldn't hesitate to reveal what Patta wanted to know about Mt. Ebott. If there was anyone who would know about whatever was going on in that mountain it would be Ciruel.

The plan was good, so good Patta got way into it. The best way they had decided to make Ciruel be sociable was to talk about monsters, as expected. Ciruel had gone into a short dissertation about the nature of monsters, which actually got Patta's attention. It had soon turned into a discussion about the biology of monsters, and Patta, being the former biology undergraduate student they were, had been more than glad to join the fun.

At some point it had all turned to the topic of magic and how it affected monster bodies. Patta took a sip of the coffee Ciruel had brought, adjusted their old scarf – clashing against the formal suit - and resumed the train of thought they had created:

"Magic is a big deal for monsters. They'd need a constant influx of magic, and I'm sure that's where monster food comes into play, since it's made with magic. The magic allows them to keep their bodies on top shape. For example, you know how evolution relies on species changing to adapt better to their environments?" Ciruel nodded. As the scion of the Muscat family, all of them scholars, it was to be expected Ciruel would know quite a lot about different subjects.

"Got proof to back up your words?"

Patta nodded. "That's where I was getting to! I think I can prove it. Listen, monsters lived alongside humans so I can only suppose they came across human food often. Both types of food are entirely different, but monsters could eat both. After they got locked underground theoretically that should have changed due to having no contact with human food, but here's Asriel, able to eat human food without any trouble. To me that's proof monster bodies hasn't changed at all in centuries, most likely due to the magic maintaining all organs intact even if they were never used for many generations"

"But that would mean a monster that exclusively eats human food would degrade and die, since there's no magic in our food" Ciruel pointed. That was actually a pretty good point, in Patta's opinion, and they had to think for a moment.

"...maybe the nutrients in the human food could do the same function magic in monster food does. I hope I'm right"

"I'm sure you are right" Ciruel was pretty enraptured in the discussion too, happy to have somebody to discuss in an intellectual level. Patta got ready to close his theoretical dissertation.

"It is pretty obvious Asriel has the necessary organs to deal with human food. Since he has no problems at all I can only suppose it is all okay"

"No problems at all? No allergies, no cramps, no problems to complete the digestive process?"

Patta shrugged. "I haven't been informed of anything. Besides it isn't like I have interrogated Asriel about his intestines, there's no reason to do such thing" Ciruel opened his mouth "No, you can't bother him about this, not now, not tomorrow. Give the kid some privacy, will you?" Ciruel closed his mouth. Patta decided it had been enough. May as well get to the point "Okay, it was nice to discuss theoretical monster biology with you, but there are more important matters to talk about than Asriel's digestion"

"What will it be?"

"Hm, first: who is Asgore Dreemurr?" Patta remembered very well Ciruel had mentioned that name during the dinner. Asriel may not have asked about it, but Patta felt this could be something good to know. Who was that person?

Ciruel didn't reply immediately. Instead he stood up from his seat and approached one of the shelves, taking out what seemed to be like a pictures album. "My great-grandmother found these images from the time monsters were banished. This is parchment, so don't touch it" Ciruel opened the album and found what he was looking for; turning it around so Patta could take a look at the image.

It was an ink drawing of a ferocious-looking monster. Patta leaned forward to take a better look; there was indeed some resemblance to Asriel. This Asgore monster, clad in intimidating-looking armor, was of considerable size, the adult male human drawn apparently for size comparison could barely reach his breastplate. The long trident Asgore was holding made him even more frightening. "...wow...are you saying when Asriel grows up he could resemble this juggernaut?" it was almost a ridiculous thought.

"They must be the same subspecies, so I think he will. Engrave that cuddly child form in your mind because it won't last longer than five years more, I'd say"

"But who _is_ Asgore Dreemurr?"

Ciruel passed the page. There was now a confusing image of a battle, Patta couldn't distinguish who was who, with one single exception: Asgore, holding the trident as if he was ready to impale some unfortunate warriors. "Asgore was said to be part of the monster royalty in the time the war happened. If the information my great-great-great-grandfather found is accurate, he was bound to be the king at some point" Ciruel turned another page. Asgore featured again in another piece of parchment, surrounded by flames "He was greatly feared by humans back then. Asgore is said to have defended his people, risking his own life, and survived despite many warriors' efforts. Once monsters were sealed underground, humanity started to do their best to defame monsters. For example, do you know what they did to King Asgore?"

"It can't have been anything good"

"...okay, I admit it is not confirmed, this is just my great-great-great grandfather's theory, Ciruel the Second's. He was kind of kooky, from what I have heard, but he..." Ciruel turned once another page around. There was a blurry copy of the drawing of Asgore surrounded by flames and a very badly drawn demon on the next page "...he theorized the modern version of the devil exists as an attempt to defame Asgore Dreemurr"

Patta was silent for a moment as if they were waiting Ciruel to say he was joking. "...what."

"That was exactly what I said when I heard it: "What." There are many flaws with that theory, so let's not give it any thought any longer" Ciruel closed the album, leaving it on the desk.

* * *

 _The details of what happened have been forever lost to history, and it isn't like I have checked the timeline to know the finer points of the matter, but Asgore's personality...still caught me by surprise. In the morning of the last day, when he came to the house for a moment, he asked about what humans thought of monsters, and I briefly touched Ciruel's ancestor's theory._

 _...I haven't forgotten his expression from when I mentioned that. It really hurt his feelings, and I had to clarify it was nothing more than some madman's theory. Maybe he was different during the war, I don't know._

* * *

"If it is true, it is once another proof humanity back then didn't plan to give monsters a break, and that is something everyone knows. Grandma proved monsters were the big losers in the war. Not to say they were completely innocent, but humans made no attempt to show mercy"

They were silent for a moment. Patta still hadn't asked their main question, but there was something about Ciruel that was bothering them. Ciruel right now seemed like a completely different person, confident and calm, but when Asriel was nearby he turned flippant, kind of jittery and like...he feared Asriel was going to fade out like he had been no more than a mirage. Patta felt _something_ was wrong with Ciruel, but he couldn't pinpoint what.

"Ciruel, you said you were the seventh, right?"

"That is right! I'm the seventh person named Ciruel. There's one in each generation. My father, my grandmother...they all had the same name I do, and it is my turn to carry our legacy" Ciruel paced in front of the shelves, touching the spines of the books "Monsters...those are the reason we, the ones named Ciruel, exist for. All of us have done something meaningful about monsterkind. Books, theories, investigations...the name Ciruel Muscat is known around the world as an authority when monsters are involved"

"It must be nice to have something to do with your life"

Ciruel tensed, having to take a deep breath. He started to talk, getting more and more jittery with every word:

"That is right. This is what I must do. Monsters _are_ my life. It is what I exist for. That is what I have been told since I can remember. "Ciruel, you must continue our legacy". My family expects me to do something meaningful in this field, and I _must_ do it. There's nothing else I'm good for. It doesn't even matter if I _want_ to or not. I must...continue the name's legacy..."

Patta really started to get concerned about Ciruel's emotional state. "Um, are you okay?" The scholar ignored Patta, continuing his feverish spiel.

"This must be what my whole life must have been building to; Asriel's presence here must be a sign! If something happens, if this all fails...I don't know what I will do. I don't think I'll be able to live with myself" Ciruel took off his glasses. His expression was one of pure panic. "You can't know how it is, to know so many people before me have excelled in the field. I have all this pressure over me and I _can't_ leave it aside! If I fail, if this comes to nothing...no, that won't happen. I must continue ahead. I must _persevere_. What I want, what I feel, it doesn't matter.

I must...continue forward..."

Patta slowly stood up and started inching away. Something was _seriously_ wrong with Ciruel. The scholar noticed Patta trying to go away, put on his glasses again and smiled with sadness. The difference in his behaviors was unsettling. "Did I scare you? Don't pay attention to me. I'm a bit stressed, that is all"

"That was not 'being a bit stressed'!" Patta exclaimed and added, maybe blunter than it should have been: "Something is wrong with you!"

Ciruel looked away. "Maybe. I have been feeling weird for a long time, ever since Dad's death. It doesn't help his last words were a reminder of my reason to live. Maybe I lost my marbles at some point and nobody noticed until now"

Patta, although tempted to go away, didn't move. They hadn't asked yet what they wanted, and it would be good to get it out of the way before Ciruel got strange again. "Ciruel, what do you know about Mt. Ebott?"

"The mountain? A few things. I know people disappear when they try to climb, and that monsters live underneath it"

"What do you think makes people disappear? I ask because...I may have to climb it. I don't want to go missing"

"There are many theories! Aliens, alternate dimensions, bears...the list is long. Since nobody who has gone there has ever returned, it is hard to know a cause" Ciruel pointed at the window, apparently it faced towards Mt. Ebott "Some people observe the mountain with telescopes and stuff and they see tiny dots on light on it. I mean, _very_ tiny. I once heard someone wonder if it could be somebody doing campfires on the mountain. Of course that's no good answer"

"Don't you think somebody could be living up there?" That seemed like the logical explanation.

"On the mountain? That is impossible. Who would live up there? There are no basic services, there's nothing to eat...nobody could survive up there. That must be why Mt. Ebott is a hotbed of rumors and legends. It is no man's land"

"I don't think it's so unlikely. People have lived in all type of places" Patta said, shrugging. Ciruel mulled it for a moment before taking once another book from the shelves, flipping the pages until he found what he wanted.

"Well there was this person, two, three or four hundred years ago, who is said to have gone to live to Mt. Ebott until they died. They're almost like an urban legend now, in fact, one of the theories is that their ghost roams the mountain and kidnaps people into the netherworld"

"A ghost isn't making people disappear, that is for sure" Patta replied "But if they lived on the mountain then it shows it's possible! Somebody could be up there" While it wasn't an outright answer to Patta's question, maybe it could be good to have some idea of what it could be. Any information was good when one knew nothing.

"Ciruel the Third found a lot of stuff. Did you know four hundred years ago their technological state was not too far behind from our actual technology? In a way you could say we haven't progressed much in four hundred years. I mean, we have cell phones, huge TVs, other stuff, but back then they had video cameras, rudimentary videogame systems..."

"Get to the point, please!"

"Oh, right! So, I'll tell you a story, based on everything that was found. Most people know this person as the Hermit, due to the legend that states they lived on that mountain for the rest of their life. To the general public they are no more than a possibly fictional figure, but to me there's no arguing they existed.

This is the story of Chara"


	23. Chara

_**Story tags have been modified:**_

 **General Audiences - Teen and Up Audiences**

 **Better be safe than sorry, so it has been modified due to what may happen from here and until the end of the story.**

* * *

 _The city near Mt. Ebott wasn't always so big. Back then, it was more of a village, around ten short streets lined with brick houses and large gardens. It was a secluded community, where people knew each other. That didn't mean it was a united community, though. Each family lived cared only for themselves; they rarely bothered to try to actually get to know other people beyond the usual daily interactions. The village near Mt. Ebott was far from being friendly. The general rule was "mind your own business and it will all be okay"._

 _That didn't mean people weren't happy living there. Most of its inhabitants liked to live there. Chara wasn't different in that regard despite their young age. Chara and their mother lived in a large house in the outskirts of the village, a nice two-story house with an attic and surrounded by a sizable expanse of asphalt._

 _Chara's father was gone at some point before Chara's birth; the reasons have been lost to time. Nobody talked much about that and to be frank Chara felt some resentment towards him, but they didn't delve too much into that. After all, they had their mother and they were happy._

 _"The world is large, Chara. You could go somewhere new every day for the rest of your life yet you wouldn't be able to see everything it has to offer" she used to say to the child. Chara liked to listen their mother talk; she was always the affectionate type._

 _At some point Chara pointed at the mountains and asked if they could go camp on them someday. Their mother smiled and brushed her child's hair. "Someday we can camp on some of them. There are some that aren't good for that. Look over there" she pointed towards Mt. Ebott "That one is a bad mountain. People who go there are never seen again. Never go there, Chara" Chara nodded, they wouldn't do something that would hurt their mother._

 _One day, when Chara was six years old, their mother smiled, dressed up for her usual routine. Just a normal woman leading a normal life in a normal city. Usually she'd get a babysitter, but for some reason the usual ones were busy that day. Although she felt great guilt for it, she decided to leave Chara alone for that day, despite their young age. It wasn't like anyone was going to care. "I'll be back in a few hours, Chara. Be good, okay?"_

 _Chara promised they'd be good. They knew what they could do for fun and what they weren't allowed to do, and they appreciated their mother's trust. Chara's mother waved and closed the entrance door, walking away towards the rest of the town._

 _Chara never saw her again._

 ** _ooo_**

"Did she run away?" Patta asked. Ciruel looked up from the notes written in the book, looking languidly at his guest.

"With all due respect, this is not a crystal ball. I can't know anything that is not here"

"You knew about a mundane conversation between Chara and their mother, and about what Chara felt" Patta pointed. Ciruel rubbed his glasses against his coat, not very amused.

"Don't question the tale, okay? Maybe I'm embellishing it a little but it all adheres to the notes here. I will continue now"

 ** _ooo_**

 _For the rest of their life Chara wondered why their mother never returned. Curiously, they never blamed themselves for that like some kids would do in a similar situation. All the scenarios were about what other people could have done to her and, once their love started to turn into resentment, about what their mother could have done. From such a young age Chara started to show a selfish and narcissistic streak. Not to say they were a bad kid, but they were unpleasant in that regard._

 _Chara wasn't a student; their mother had disappeared before she could enroll them. That's why they spent most of their time lazing around the house, wondering what had happened to their mother. That was practically all that was in their mind._

 _"She got murdered. She got kidnapped. She got arrested for no reason. She got arrested for a reason. She is hurt and trapped somewhere"_

 _The more time passed, the more resentment Chara felt._

 _"She had problems and had to go away. She ran away. She abandoned me. She followed my father. She didn't want me anymore. She hated me. She wanted to get rid of me. She had other children. She had another family"_

 _At some point she started thinking of their own mother as somebody who had betrayed them too._

 _It doesn't mean Chara didn't try to find her, though. For several months Chara talked with everyone they could, trying to see if anyone knew where she could be. They talked with the police, with the mayor, with everyone they thought could know something, and nobody was able to tell them a thing._

 _Even worse, nobody seemed to care about Chara being alone. People talked about it, sometimes even when Chara was near, but nobody bothered to talk to Chara, try to find out if they were okay. They all expected someone else to do it, and the child knew it._

 _Chara was able to survive because they were clever and didn't sit around waiting for somebody to come. Instead of letting themselves wither until death, they did everything they could to gather food or money, forced to unlawfully take that stuff. People...didn't even care they were doing that. Perhaps it was misguided pity. 'Poor child. I'll pretend I didn't see them steal from me'. Or perhaps they didn't think it was worth it to pursue any further action._

 _Years passed. Chara grew more restless with each passing day. They had learned to do everything they needed to survive. Cooking, cleaning, minor first aid...all that learned by themselves, with the expected mediocre results. The once beautiful house started looking derelict, both outside and inside. Chara's world was reduced to only a couple places inside that big house. They rarely went outside, and slowly they got forgotten by everyone._

 ** _ooo_**

Patta closed their eyes. Once another child forced to live alone...this city really had a problem with that since a long time ago. Apathy seemed to be the common denominator that gripped people's hearts. "It all sounds so familiar to what Frisk and Celia are going through..."

* * *

 _History has a strange way of repeating. Celia, Frisk and Chara all were forced to live by themselves, but their way to deal with it was completely different. Celia was unable to survive by herself, as she chose to wait for help to come._

 _Frisk and Chara are very similar. I don't know much about Frisk's past, but overall they went through similar experiences. Their main difference was that Chara gave up on humanity and ran away to Mt. Ebott, while Frisk tried their best to continue holding on and stay in the city._

 _By now it is...no surprise to me the first sign of this timeline's fate was that Frisk fell into despair and started to follow in Chara's footsteps. After seeing what happens in those iterations where monsterkind is destroyed it is all pretty obvious to me. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, eh?_

* * *

"Who is Celia?"

"A little girl I know who is living with Frisk in an abandoned house. Now that I think about it...have _you_ tried to help Frisk or Celia?"

Ciruel seemed rather surprised to be asked that "N-Not really...I guess I never thought I could do something for any of them..." The mistakes of the past really tended to be repeated. The scholar recovered quickly and fired back: "What, have you done anything?"

"There's nothing I can do! I don't even live in this city" Patta mumbled. They just couldn't see what they could do. Trying to get the guilt out of their mind Patta prompted Ciruel to continue.

 ** _ooo_**

 _When Chara was twelve the last remains of their tiny world were threatened to be taken away. People started to take notice of the abandoned house, attracted by its size and its former glory. Some were interested in acquiring the property. As far as they knew, nobody lived there. It wasn't long before the terrain was acquired by unknown people._

 _Chara had noticed people were coming and going, but they hadn't made any effort to make any contact with them. Their trust in humanity was abysmally low, and they weren't interested in talking to anyone. One day it all came to its end._

 _A pair of men entered the house, surveying the rooms. Chara had taken shelter into their room, but soon those men entered and found them. "Looks like there's an invader in the house"_

 _"This is my house! Get out of here!" Chara roared with all the strength of a twelve year old kid. Obviously, the men weren't intimidated._

 _"What are we going to do?" "Just throw them out of here"_

 _"What?!" Chara wasn't stupid. They guessed those men's intentions easily "You won't take my house!"_

 _"Get out of here, kid. This is private property"_

 _"Go away!" Chara gripped anything they could. Those men would have to physically pry them away of they wanted to take Chara out of their home. That is exactly what they were going to do, seeing how Chara refused to listen. The men advanced, grabbing them._

 _It had been literally years since the last time Chara had talked with anyone. Being grabbed by the arms to be forcibly pulled away was too much. Chara screamed, panicking. Two strangers were going to throw them out of the only home they had ever known, what were they going to do now? Chara managed to struggle and get away, running away into the rest of the house. "Hey! Where are you going?!" the men shouted but didn't make much effort of following Chara. They were expecting the kid to run outside._

 _That's why they didn't expect Chara to run into the kitchen. Once Chara disappeared into the kitchen the men started to lose their patience, pursuing them in there. "We're not here to play game, kid, get out of here or we'll call the police" one of them said._

 _"I have lived here all my life. I was here first! You can't throw me away!" Chara had taken cover behind the abandoned counter. They started rummaging through the drawers, looking for anything they could use for defend themselves._

 _The men started whispering between them "Who lived here before it was abandoned?" "I think a mother and their child used to live here" "Couldn't this be the child?" "I don't think so. Who has heard of a kid living alone? It's impossible"_

 _Chara wasn't paying attention to them. All they cared about is that their last piece of their world was going to be taken away, and they didn't want it to happen. Among the abandoned utensils they found a kitchen knife._

 _When Chara saw it, it felt like time had stopped. For a moment everything they had been repressing during all those years of loneliness and resentment started to burst. Chara_ hated _humanity. Chara hated everyone, they hated themselves, and wanted nothing more than to just go away somewhere far away and never see anyone ever again._

 _It should go unsaid by now Chara wasn't exactly sane due to all those years of isolation and all the anger they had pent up._

 _The men approached again to grab them and drag them out of the house, as a last attempt before they called police. Chara knew they would try that, so the child got into fetal position, hiding the blade. When the men grabbed them, Chara attacked._

 ** _ooo_**

Patta shook their head. After having brought to Ciruel the similarities between Chara and Frisk listening to the tale had turned into an unpleasant experience. The thought Frisk could have been like Chara if the circumstances had been closer to the content of that tale was very distressing. Patta was really glad Frisk hadn't lost the grip on reality they had.

 ** _ooo_**

 _When Chara returned to their senses they realized the immensity of the mistake they had done. The bodies of the men they had just killed lay there, unmoving. Chara dropped the knife, stumbling back until they hit the wall. Hyperventilating, they processed the consequences of their actions._

 _In their panic and intense desire to release the hate they had been holding onto, they had taken two lives and completely destroyed any hopes of continuing living in the house. Chara wasn't so mindless they didn't realize it was likely some people knew where those men would be going to. It was matter of time before anyone arrived and found it all, and if Chara stayed around they had no doubts they would get correctly blamed for their deaths._

 _They left the house a mere hour later. Chara saw no future for them anywhere. "What have people done for me? Nothing. It is like I never existed. If I leave the city no one will notice. I have no reason to be here. I just have to leave" they muttered to themselves before walking away from their house._

 _There was only one place they could go to, that is what they thought: Mt. Ebott. The mountain where everyone disappears...that would be better than having to live among humans, wouldn't it? Chara didn't care what happened to them. If they disappeared then great! It would all be over. If that was no more than a legend and they survived then great! They wouldn't have to see anyone ever again. Nobody in their right minds would try to climb a mountain like that one, would they?_

 _It was perfect, that was what Chara thought. So they left the city and walked towards Mt. Ebott without hesitation._

 _People did find out Chara ran away to the mountain. Everyone also knew Chara was the culprit for those two men's deaths. Nobody tried to apprehend Chara, though. The kid had gone to a cursed mountain, why to follow them? They were bound to die, that is what everyone thought. Not even the families of the victims pressed to capture Chara._

 _It was just like it always was: nobody cared about Chara._

 _But nobody had expected the child to survive on the mountain. People reported tiny lights on the mountain, and the disappearances kept happening. The legend of Mt. Ebott gained strength, and Chara's name soon was lost in the sands of time, the person said to live on the mountain was known as the Hermit from then on. Only a few know about Chara's name and life, and I'm sure that is what they would have wanted._

 ** _ooo_**

Ciruel closed the book, having finished the story. It was much more grueling to listen than Patta had expected, mostly because it made them feel pretty conflicted. "...I see. Poor kid".

"In my opinion Chara's presence on the mountain helped to cement the legend of Mt. Ebott. Just so you know...my ancestors' notes are clear about something: the curse over that mountain wasn't so bad before Chara lived there. People did go missing, but it was not very often. Most travelers returned safe and sound"

"Then why does the legend exist?"

"...it is human nature" Ciruel adjusted their glasses "Let's take those homeless children's situation you got so fixated about. You keep them in mind because of their sad stories. Tell me, do you ever think about the children who are _happy_? Do you think these three cases make the people of this city look apathetic?" That was exactly what Patta had thought "Those aren't the only children in the city. Three of them are miserable, but do you know how many are happy and well cared for, not only by their parents but by many other people as well? I'm sure the number would reach a few thousands, at least"

Patta understood Ciruel's point. Now that they thought about it...it made sense. They were looking at things the wrong way. Maybe they had gone too judgmental without considering the situation as a whole. "Those few bad examples are what get known around. I see"

Ciruel nodded. "Exactly" There was silence for a moment before the scholar talked again "Mt. Ebott is weird, though. Since Chara went there the legend has turned true. I haven't found out about not even a single person who has gone there and returned. It is _so strange_..."

"Excuse me?" A voice sounded from the entrance. Ciruel and Patta turned around. The door had been opened and somebody who seemed to be one of Ciruel's employees was standing there, holding a large package "I was wondering if you could give this to that monster, honored guest"

Patta raised their eyebrows and took the package. It had a short letter attached. The employee waved and walked away. Ciruel leaned forward, eyeing the box. "That is a large gift! What does the letter say?"

Patta was already reading it. The letter was written formally in the beginning, but turned friendlier the longer it went.

 _Young monster._

 _We are sorry to hear you had a bad experience with somebody here at this manor. Please don't worry, she has been fired._

 _The rest of us employees were very appalled to find out what happened. Don't feel bad!_

 _Please accept this candy. We're sure you are a good kid; you will like everything we bought! Take it as proof of the chance we are willing to give to monsters._

 _-from the employees at Muscat Manor_

"...I don't like this very much" Patta muttered. Maybe they were being too paranoid, but after everything that happened that day – and what Asriel had said – Patta didn't feel like trusting them to be harmless. It was unfair and kind of stupid, but that is how they felt.

"Why not? It is a sign of good will, let Asriel have his candy"

"It isn't so easy! I just...wish there were some way to know this was sincere. Asriel would be happy to receive this, I know, but I'm concerned for his safety"

Ciruel took the box and opened it, finding several bags filled with many types of candy. At first glance it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with them. "It all seems okay to me. I trust my employees. Give them to the kid"

Patta looked aside. After what had happened to Nadine they couldn't be blamed for being reticent about this, right? Or maybe...they were looking at this with the wrong perspective, just like they had done just before the candy arrived. Patta had written off most of the city population as selfish and indifferent human beings, not realizing a few didn't symbolize everyone, and now they were doing that again, placing Nadine as the example of how they thought all of Ciruel's employees were like.

"You are right. I will" Patta took the box and the letter "It's unfair of me to think badly of your employees. I still think there's a risk this is a trap of sorts, but...I shouldn't put everyone under the same label"

"That is what I wanted to hear! It's getting late, and I have a long night of work in front of me. You should go rest, unless you have something else to ask?"

"I don't think I do..." Actually, why not to see if Ciruel knew about something like this too? "Have you ever felt like you _must_ do something even if it doesn't make sense? Like something in your head is telling you to do it because otherwise things would go wrong?"

"I'm not sure I understand" Ciruel said.

"Look, these days Asriel and I – and Graham too, I remember that – have experienced something like...a weird something hinting what we should do. It is hard to describe, but it feels like there's just _no other option_ " Thankfully during the day Patta hadn't felt anything like that, but there was an underlying gut feeling that it was the next day in the afternoon that Asriel should return to the Underground. Not earlier, not later.

Maybe they were mistaken, but they also had the impression Asriel's insistence on meeting Ciruel was partly dictated by feelings like those, too. It had also been through those premonitions Patta and Asriel had met Frisk, and when exactly Graham called Ciruel.

How many little details had been influenced by those feelings? Had other people felt something like those too? Nobody else had commented anything like that, but it wasn't like they had a reason to do that, either.

"...I think I know what you mean" Ciruel said slowly "To be honest when I left the dining room earlier I realized I wanted to stay, because leaving my guests alone was not something a good host would do. What got me out wasn't urgent, I could do it later, but I kept going because _it felt right_. I _had_ to go solve the problem that had arisen. It did feel weird; it felt like I was following some sort of instruction" the scholar shrugged.

Both Ciruel and Patta mulled what could be going on. At least four different people had reported those odd premonitions – and chances were that others had felt the same thing too - but it was all out of their understanding. What did all those decisions have in common? Patta didn't see their relation yet.

Seeing there was nothing else to discuss Patta stood up, ready to return to the bedrooms. "Thank you for everything, Ciruel. I'll get going"

Ciruel stopped them, though. He took a book from the shelf and gave it to Patta. "Here, have this. I have no need for it and I think you'd like it more than I do" It was a book about monster biology. Patta's eyes practically lighted up as if they had just been offered an easy way to achieve all their dreams. "Also please remember to leave the dirty clothes in a bag or something in the hallway. I'll get them washed later" the scholar said, opening a notebook and starting to write in it.

Patta left the study, going straight to the bedroom. Asriel and Frisk were still talking. They didn't pay attention to that, it sounded like they were discussing fun stuff to do the next day. Patta sat and opened the book, starting to read it and forgetting about the gift for Asriel, instead leaving it in a corner of the room.

This wasn't all going to be as bad as he thought it would be.

 **Monster Biology Textbook + 14 ATK**

 _A thick tome written by one of Ciruel's ancestors. The perfect definition of 'doorstopper'. Also a reminder to follow your dreams._

-ooooo-

It was eleven o'clock in the night and the three of them were still awake. Patta still had their nose buried in the book, but Asriel and Frisk had tired from talking, Frisk soon falling deeply asleep on one of the mattresses. Asriel came out of the bathroom, having put on his new pajamas – already clumsily fixed to fit his body - and gave Patta the dirty clothes, everything soon left in the hallway just like Ciruel had instructed.

The children were about to go sleep when Patta's cellphone started to ring. Asriel, being the one closest to it, took it and saw the name. "It's Annie" Patta grunted, signaling they had heard it, so Asriel answered the call. "Howdy!"

"Night, squirt. How is the night sky of the desert for you?" Asriel had already gotten used to Ananas' cheesy quasiwestern way to speak. Deciphering it wasn't difficult anymore.

"We're fine! We're at Ciruel's house. Do you know Ciruel?"

"I 'ave heard of him but I don' know him in person" Ananas replied. She had called for a reason so may as well get to it "Could you pass the phone to Patta? I'd like to have a confab with them"

"Sure!" But before he could do it Ananas blurted 'wait!' so he stopped. There was silence for a moment, Asriel could hear the airplanes in the background and Ananas breathing.

"...you are going to return to your home tomorrow, won't you?" her accent was gone once again. When Asriel replied affirmatively Ananas chuckled, she sounded forlorn "About time you did. Your parents must be really worried about you"

Asriel didn't reply to that because he knew that would be true. Surely by now everyone in the Underground would have checked every inch of every section available, not able to find trace of him. Or maybe the royal scientist had told them he had been the last to see Asriel, in which case...well he didn't know very well. Asriel remembered the CORE. Would Gaster say he had entered with Asriel and that other person to the CORE? Because that wouldn't be easy to explain, especially if that caused the prince's disappearance.

Now that he thought about it...Asriel didn't even know _why_ Gaster and that other person had taken him into the CORE. What was for sure was that it somehow ended in the other person's death and Asriel appearing over the surface very far away from home. No idea what happened to Gaster.

Ananas continued "But you know what? I hope you enjoyed your time up here. I'm sorry you can't stay for any longer. Returning to the Underground, possibly to never return...I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds"

"It's okay!" Asriel replied, unexpectedly cheerful, at least in Ananas' opinion "My family is there, and we're all holding onto our hope. Someday the Barrier will be broken and we'll return to the surface!"

Ananas chuckled again, this time it sounded like she was crying a bit "Glad to hear that. This may be the last time we'll ever talk. I don't think I'll be alive when the Barrier is broken. I'm old. It's a shame, I wish I could see you again once you have grown up, at least to know you are happy and ready to face the surface and its problems" Asriel clutched the phone a bit tighter "You are a brave and kind monster, Asriel.

Be good, okay?"

"Okay" Asriel's eyes watered. He could feel how much Ananas cared for him, and that was something he valued a lot. He still didn't understand very well how exactly he had influenced her to change, but that was okay. She was a friend too and that was something he understood.

Ananas again asked Asriel to pass the cell phone to Patta, who received it. After the usual greeting – Patta having to ask for clarification because they didn't comprehend what she was saying - Ananas went to the point of her call.

"You at Ciruel's manor, huh? My husband will leave a package there. It's my way to say sorry for the blunders"

"I don't remember you doing any mistakes. You have been a big help"

Ananas sighed. "It's better you don't hear about it. Doesn' matter now. Either way, I was callin' to confirm if you were goin' to let me take you home in my plane. That offer's still in the air"

It was going to be nice to have a way to return home, especially since Asriel had managed to lose Patta's suitcase with most of the money down a fissure. Patta accepted, much to Ananas' joy. "That's great! I'll be back in town tomorrow, so stay with Graham until then. I'll pick you up. Besides I'm sure he'd like to see you before you return to the other side of the ocean"

"We could stay in contact somehow. You, me and Graham, would you like that too?"

"You bet! So you better not go missin', pardner, or else I'll take my gun and go retrieve you from that damn mountain by myself" although Ananas laughed after that, Patta felt she was actually serious about going to look for them "In all seriousness, Patta, be careful. We would hate to hear something happened to you"

"I have your number, I can call you anytime"

"If I don't answer my phone or if you change your mind and decide to go to your home by yourself just tell Frisk before you climb the mountain. He'll tell me or Graham once they return to the city"

"Got it" After a few more minutes chatting with Ananas about Graham and Patta's life back at their home the call ended, Patta giving the cellphone back to Asriel. It was nice to know Ananas and Graham were willing to be their friend. It was likely Patta wouldn't return to the city for a long time – international trips didn't tend to be in his budget and their bank account was almost dry now – but at least they could be sure Ananas and Graham would try their best to stay in contact with them.

Making friends hadn't been something Patta had expected to do. It had been a nice surprise. Overall, those days had brought a lot of surprises to them. They could practically feel their change of attitude, shaping up to be a better person overall.

Patta was going to be a new person by the end of the journey, they were sure of it.

* * *

 _Hahahaha...hah...fate is cruel. That was exactly what was supposed to happen. If I had kept my former flaws I think the timeline would have been destroyed. Everything that happened was so I would change and be a better person. That was **vital** for the existence of the timeline. I don't regret having changed, though._

 _I regret not changing fast enough._

* * *

-ooooo-

Ciruel stopped writing in his notebook and sighed, looking out of the window. He had been working nonstop since Patta had left the study, and the clock said it was little more than midnight. Asriel being over the surface was a chance he wasn't going to let go. It was all he existed for, that is what he had repeated to himself over and over again.

The scholar reread everything they had written. It was an extensive schedule for Asriel, lasting all the way to the next year "...Patta...they're the problem. If they are around I don't think Asriel will agree. There must be something that could be done with Patta..."

Hurting them was out of question. Ciruel was desperate but not so much he'd consider 'getting Patta out of the way', so to say. He hoped they could achieve their goal without having to harm anyone.

There was also the matter of practically everyone else in the world. Ciruel's plan was very detailed, and he was confident with his own skills and the help of many people he could manage to do everything in the schedule he had made for Asriel, but his plan of making Asriel the Ambassador for Monsterkind towards humanity was not going to be easy.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Start small, continue from there. Making people believe Asriel exists may not be so easy, even if he appears in public. Photos and videos wouldn't work very well either" the chances some people would think it was some random kid in disguise was reasonably high. Some people were skeptical like that. Ciruel needed more evidence if he wanted to be taken seriously.

All those plans made...and almost no serious thought of Asriel rejecting them. That wasn't something Ciruel would allow.

Mulling how to get incontrovertible proof of Asriel's existence Ciruel decided to take a walk around the manor. He left the study, slowly pacing along the halls. Most employees were asleep already, silence filled the place. His wandering soon took him to the guest bedrooms hall.

It seemed his guests were asleep by now. There was a bag to the side of Asriel's door, which contained two bundles of dirty clothes, one from Patta and the other from Asriel. Remembering he had promised to get that washed Ciruel took the bag, going towards the basement of the manor where the washing machines were kept.

He didn't mind doing this himself; it was his duty as a good host to fulfill his promise. Ciruel filled one washing machine with Patta's clothes and started taking out Asriel's into a different one. He stopped when he grabbed Asriel's sweater, a sudden thought crossing his mind.

Ciruel evaluated the material of the sweater, all the time wondering if he had in his hands the key to solve his problem. Carefully, the scholar reversed the sweater, making sure not to shake it very much, and looked all over it with keen eye. He smiled, pleased, when he saw just what he had hoped to see. Ciruel hoped the fact monsters were creatures made of magic wouldn't be a problem.

There was some fur clinging to the material of the sweater. Ciruel went away for a moment and returned with a sample tube from his study, and carefully put into the tube all the fur he could find. There was a nice amount of samples, more than enough for anything he could want or request.

"...I wonder if there could be DNA obtained from this" Did monsters even have DNA? Several questions crossed Ciruel's mind, but this was a possible answer to his problems. Even if such thing couldn't be done, or if nothing was found through it, it was possible this was the thing he needed to help back up Asriel's authenticity.

Once Asriel's clothes started being washed too Ciruel left the basement. He had a package to send and a favor to ask to a laboratory.

-ooooo-

While Ciruel was thinking about sending the samples of Asriel's fur to a laboratory, in another part of the city, Cohen and Selby were reunited.

Selby had been the only one willing to forgive Cohen, at least for now. They had reunited to hang out, and they were now returning to their homes. The mood was light, and the night was clear. Cohen was rather glad Selby had decided to give him a chance, it was a huge relief.

"...and then she said 'let's meet on Sunday' and I agreed immediately. Can you believe it?" Selby was saying with enthusiasm.

"I hardly can" Cohen replied "I won't believe it until I see her myself"

"I took a photo with my cell phone. Here" Selby passed the cell phone to Cohen, who got into the photo files and started to browse them, looking for the most recent ones.

Selby had continued talking, but Cohen felt like Earth stood still. There was a new photo; just to the side of the one Selby had meant to show him. Cohen opened it to see better, finding it was Selby, clutching a strange creature as if he thought it was going to try to run away, and judging by the creature's expression, it wanted to. The place, the weather...there was no doubt that photo had been taken that day.

Cohen quickly sent himself a copy to his own cell phone. "Selby, what is this?" he turned Selby's cell phone to show the photo. Selby stopped, frowning.

"What about it?"

"That is the monster, isn't it?"

Selby held back a groan. This was precisely what he had wanted to avoid. After mentally kicking himself for having been so careless he raised his hands defensively. "Please don't start again with your monster craze. Let it go!"

"You had this photo all this time and you hid its existence! What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me?! You are the one who-you know what just give me that!" Selby took away the phone, putting it away immediately. Cohen congratulated himself for his foresight at sending himself a copy of the photo.

"This is precisely what we had to do when we were in the park earlier, yo. Why didn't you reveal it?!"

"How would that helped you? Look at yourself! This whole monster thing is making you crazy, Cohen! I wanted this to end!" He also had wanted to have proof of the existence of monsters and selfishly keep it for himself, but it wasn't like he was going to tell Cohen that.

Cohen narrowed his eyes and walked away. "Don't even think of asking me to give you another chance, you moron!" Selby shouted but Cohen ignored him, too focused on what he could do. Now that he had the photo this all could go well.

All he needed was someone to believe it. Anyone!

Once he got back to his house he sneaked into his bedroom, ready to enact a plan. First he was going to upload it to the social network groups. That would cause people to pester Selby, and he would be forced to explain. Even if Selby denied ever meeting a monster, as long as a handful of people took the photo as proof, it would be okay.

Then Patta's photo would be uploaded too, explicitly saying to alert where that person was, if anyone saw them. Explaining Patta was protecting the monster was important.

And finally...spread the photos everywhere he could. If he could get media's attention even better. Every couple months or so the news casts and the newspapers liked to make reports about supposed ghost sightings and the such, Cohen saw no reason why they couldn't use Selby's photo of Asriel and himself for something.

It didn't matter if the majority of the people who saw it didn't believe it. All that mattered was that a few did believe it. That would encourage people to keep their eyes wide open for any sign of Asriel's existence. And if even one of those people managed to see Asriel and spread the word...

...with some luck it would all snowball from there. That was Cohen's plan. It hurt to know he had lost his friends because he had gotten too into the monster stuff. That was his regret. In a way, that was why he was working so hard right now.

He hated to think he had lost his friends for nothing. The only option left now was to try his hardest to make his plan succeed.


	24. Conditioned Existence

**Time to get experimental with the vague concept that are human SOULs.**

* * *

Thirty hours remained.

It was officially the last day Asriel would be over the surface. The very first thing Patta, Frisk and Asriel himself did after breakfast was promise that to each other.

The clothes they had been wearing when they arrived to the manor were given back, clean and fragrant. Ciruel's gifts were stored away in Frisk's knapsack.

 **Formal Clothing +15 DEF +INV**

 _A gift from Ciruel. It has so much starch it's a very effective armor._

 **Fine Pajamas +2 DEF +SPD**

 _A gift from Ciruel. Light and not so durable._

Ciruel had shown to be quite cordial during breakfast. He was very tired; the three of them could see that. The eye bags Ciruel had could be seen even under those almost opaque glasses of his. "Did you stay awake all night?" Frisk asked. Ciruel seemed to be surprised Frisk actually talked to him but shook his head.

"I slept for an hour or two. I was busy but don't worry about me. Just enjoy the food" he didn't seem so nervous right now despite Asriel being nearby. Maybe he was too tired to be jittery "Asriel, could you go to the study in two hours? I'd like to talk something with you" Asriel accepted the request; although Patta was a bit concerned Ciruel hadn't requested their presence. They decided to go with him.

The guests now had an hour to spend in any way they wanted. "I want to see what's outside" Asriel had said, pressing his face against the glass of the dining room windows.

"Go ahead; the hall to this side will take you outside" Ciruel indicated, Patta first going to pick up the box of candy for Asriel and the box Ananas' husband apparently left not long ago. A few minutes later the guests were standing outside, looking at the large gardens behind the manor.

There were vegetable gardens, mostly, although a couple seemed to be more focused towards mushrooms than vegetables. In the far side of the garden there were several greenhouses, apparently filled with tall and lush plants, and on the opposite side there were corrals. Asriel and Frisk ran towards it, immediately attracted by the bleating noises, and were received by the animals contained in the corral.

"...so these are goats" Asriel said, leaning on the fence of the corral and staring at the animals. Frisk had jumped into the area and had approached the goats, having assured Asriel and Patta the goats were docile. After getting some more encouragement from Frisk Asriel dared to get into the corral, slowly advancing towards the goats.

The goats showed more initiative, many of them flocking around Asriel. Frisk, amused, laughed and watched the scene. "They like you, Azzy! Don't be shy, pet them!"

Asriel reluctantly petted one of the goats, chuckling nervously "Golly, this is kind of weird. Do I really look like one of these?"

"Not really. Your snout's shape is different" Patta explained "Outright saying you're a goat would be wrong. If you had horns it'd be more accurate, I suppose"

"But I'm bound to have horns when I grow up" Asriel touched the top of his head, moving his fingers amidst the tuft of fur that had somehow gathered up there "I can feel them"

"Really?" Frisk stood up on their toes, trying to take a look. Patta didn't resist the curiosity either, actually approaching and asking Asriel to let them see the growing horns. Asriel was right; he was going to have horns in the future. Right now those were no more than two nubs, barely a centimeter high, not even large enough to be visible unless one actively searched for them in Asriel's fur.

"How about that, you do have horns. I suppose you really are a goat" Patta grinned.

"I'm not a goat, I'm a boss monster!" Asriel pouted and got farther into the corral. Frisk and Asriel played with the goats for a while, Frisk taking the time to tease Asriel about any similarities he could have with those animals.

"Do you headbutt stuff when we're not watching, Azzy?"

"Why would I?" Asriel tilted his head.

"That's what goats do. Come over here, try to headbutt this one over here" Frisk pointed at a particularly large goat. They knew Asriel wouldn't even think of doing such thing, but they were having fun teasing Asriel either way, mostly because of the faces Asriel did at such suggestions.

"I won't hit anything with my head, Frisk!"

"It's your call as a goat, Azzy! Follow your instincts!"

"Stop that!" Asriel demanded, pouting again. Frisk smiled mischievously, stepping back for a bit, before lowering their head and charging towards Asriel, bleating all the way. Asriel, caught by surprise, didn't even have time to turn around before Frisk collided against him.

The impact wasn't as strong as Patta expected, Frisk reduced their speed just before the collision. This was in jest, after all. Frisk's head hit Asriel right onto the solar plexus, making him fall and making Frisk stumble forward and fall on their friend. The children managed to disentangle and rolled on the dirt until they were facing the sky. Still, they were having fun. Although Asriel slightly had the wind knocked out of him it didn't take long for the monster to start laughing, even if it hurt a bit. "Frisk, you are a jerk!"

"And I'm great that way" Frisk was laughing too, sitting up "Can you stand up?"

Asriel stood up by himself and went to rest by the fence while Frisk continued playing with the goats, somehow. "Why have you been carrying that box around since we left the bedroom, Patta?" he inquired, eyeing the box Patta had with them.

"It's a gift from people you don't know. I was waiting for a good time to give it to you, but I suppose now is as good as any moment" Patta passed the box to Asriel "Enjoy" Asriel opened the box, finding the heaps of bags of candy inside. For a moment Asriel stared at the candy as if he feared it'd all vanish as soon as he tried to grab some of that candy.

"Who sent all this?" he asked. Patta took out the letter from inside the box, giving it to Asriel, and observed Asriel carefully while the monster child read the letter. It was worth it.

The letter wasn't very long, but it seemed Asriel read it several times. The pure joy in his face was heartwarming, Patta felt everything that Asriel had gone through the day before was left behind and didn't matter anymore. Asriel thought the same, too. He almost couldn't believe there were people who hadn't even talked to him yet wished to him the best, to the point where they apologized for somebody else's actions and bothered to buy him something just to show their sympathy.

Asriel was completely sure now: no matter what happened, no matter how many people would be against monsters or how much suffering those people could dish out in all ways. There'd always be people who'd be willing to be kind and empathic towards them. It wasn't going to be just a few, there were going to be many more than he had thought at first. It was true the world over the surface could be frightening. Not everyone would receive them well, but Asriel knew abandoning their hopes was far from being the right thing to do. Monsterkind would need to be brave and not be afraid of what could happen.

It was said human SOULs didn't need to have hope, love and compassion to exist. That's what a book in the Snowdin librarby said. Maybe that was true it didn't mean such qualities didn't exist at all. There would always be humans filled with hope, love and compassion.

"So what do you think?" Patta asked.

"…I can't believe it. This is…Patta, can I keep the letter?" it seemed Asriel couldn't find the words to express how happy he was feeling right now.

"I don't see why not. It's yours, Asriel"

Asriel put the letter in his pocket and started eating the candy, hollering out loud how sweet everything was. Frisk, attracted by Asriel's exclamations, soon was given a large amount. After the excitement of the gift vanished Asriel seemed more thoughtful, like there was something going through his mind. "What do you two think about monsters?" he asked, twirling a wrapper in his paws.

"They are great" Frisk said, summarizing everything they had ever thought, which was not much. Asriel was their only reference and frankly they had never really thought about having an opinion about monsters as a whole.

"Everything I have heard from you show monsters are a very kind and harmless race. I'd be very glad if they returned to the surface" Patta said "I feel regretful about the war from centuries ago. I know it's not my place to apologize for that, but humans were huge jerks to you guys. So yeah, sorry about that, Asriel"

Asriel didn't take the apology the way Patta expected, though. Instead they looked to the ground, nervous. "…I…I have to accept it now. I have said many times monsters wouldn't even try to harm anyone. I think that's what I wanted to believe, but after everything I have seen up here with humanity I can't continue denying it anymore.

Monsters…may not be as nice as I have made us sound"

Patta and Frisk looked at Asriel, confused. "What do you mean?" Frisk inquired.

"Patta, about the war: Dad doesn't like to talk about it. He says we should forget about it, but Mom doesn't think the same. She once took me aside and said I should learn a bit about the war. I should tell you this:

Humans started the war but Mom says it monsters caused what led to the war"

Patta nodded. Until now they had heard about the war from sources who didn't know much or were biased. If there was someone who would know more than everyone it'd be Asriel. "Do you mind telling us more about that?"

Asriel looked at the sky. "In Waterfall there's some stuff written on the walls. It's about SOULs, and about how monsters and human SOULs can be compared in terms of power. Monsters are so weak…but can get much stronger if they absorb a human SOUL.

You wouldn't believe how powerful that'd make a monster. Their body changes too, turning into…something unsettling"

Patta had an idea of where this all was going, but didn't say anything, letting Asriel tell everything at his own pace. "Mom says that's what happened shortly before the war. It may not even have been just one single monster, we don't know how many times it happened, but humans got scared. They feared what would happen if more and more monsters decided to kill humans and absorb their SOULs.

…maybe those were accidents. I hope nobody killed a human to take their SOUL. I don't know what happened, but it all ended with us trapped under the mountain"

Although Asriel at first had some difficulty talking about the war the more he talked the calmer he was. "Maybe we deserved it, maybe we didn't. I don't know and I think those who do know the exact details want to leave it all behind. I think it doesn't matter now, but you know what?

I can say it: monsters are not all good. It's the same than with humans, not all humans are good or bad. I have to accept it, because when I'm the king they'll be my responsibility too"

The three of them stayed in silence for a while. It didn't seem like much, but both Patta and Frisk could understand this was something Asriel considered this a big change to his way to see the world. They were proud of him. Asriel smiled as if he had gotten a weight off his shoulders, beaming with glee. "Is this what growing up feels like?"

Frisk nodded but Patta didn't answer immediately. They stared at the box that Ananas had sent. Inside there were two packages and one short note from her. 'The small one is mine, the other seems to be from that girl's cousin?'. They had already taken a look at what those gifts were. They understood Ananas', but although Patta knew about Byssa because Celia had mentioned her, they didn't know why she would send something to them.

In a way Asriel was right. "Yeah, that is how it feels"

 **Deputy's Badge +1 DEF and +5 ATK**

 _A sign of friendship from Ananas, made of brass and a tad bleached in the sun of the desert. A reminder you should always try to fix your mistakes._

 **Ballet Shoes +7 ATK**

 _You can't wear them, but maybe you could swing them like a mace. A reminder to always be willing to change your attitude._

-ooooo-

To be completely honest Patta was worried Ciruel wouldn't let them go. That's why they suggested they sneaked out of the manor before the scholar noticed their intentions. The suggestion only earned him glares from both Asriel and Frisk, complemented by Asriel giving a short yet stern speech about the importance of honoring the hospitality of your host. Apparently hospitality was an important matter in monster culture.

Frisk got onto Patta's side once they explained why they wanted to run away without telling Ciruel anything, so they helped Patta to take the two mattresses back to the bedrooms those had come from. "We'll make sure we're leaving nothing behind. I know you don't approve of this, Asriel, but I think it's for the best"

"Mom would be very cross with you" Asriel glared at Patta as if he was trying to imitate Toriel's way to glare.

"We're not going to ditch your mother; we're going to ditch that guy. Look, I know that makes me a jerk, but there's something about Ciruel that's greatly bothering me. Telling him we are leaving – that you're leaving – may not be taken very well"

"He won't take it any better once he sees we're gone" Frisk intervened. Patta had to admit Frisk had a point there, even if they had sided with Patta.

"…okay, you are right about that. Look, let's finish packing and then we'll see what to do, okay?" Patta said, their tone indicating it wasn't up for discussion. Frisk, resigned, nodded and started looking around the bedrooms to see if they were forgetting anything. Asriel huffed and walked away, annoyed by Patta's attitude.

There were a few employees standing near the bedrooms, greeting Asriel with wide smiles. Maybe they had come to that place out of curiosity, or wanting to finally meet the monster that had appeared out of nowhere over the surface. Asriel replied to their greetings with some bashfulness, but it was undeniable none of the people he met held any ill will towards him, curiosity or not. A couple even commented he was adorable, which made him blushand try to hide his face behind his ears, much to the employees' glee.

That was how soon Asriel found himself in front of the open doors to Ciruel's study. Ciruel was sitting behind his desk, writing more schedules in his notebook. "Ciruel?" Asriel tentatively entered, the scholar looking at him.

"Y-young man, do you need anything? The two hours haven't passed yet"

"No, I just wanted to say hello"

"Hello, then! I hope that was good enough" Ciruel returned to his writing while Asriel approached. The child got to the scholar's side and tried to peek into the notebook.

"What are you doing?" Asriel asked.

"Oh, I'm writing some plans for the future. You won't be able to stay hidden forever, sooner or later all of the world will know about your existence. That's why I have carefully created some schedules, so we'll be able to deal with this in our own terms"

Something in Ciruel's words disquieted Asriel but he didn't let himself show any apprehension. Instead he asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Plans? What kind of plans"

"Plans for you to start your work as the Ambassador, of course" Ciruel smiled as if he hadn't just said he would force Asriel into a life changing role. Asriel's jaw dropped while Ciruel adjusted his glasses and continued "You are royalty, I know that. Who better than you to represent all monsterkind? But first than all we'll have to make sure you have a good image to everyone in this city. Baby steps, baby steps.

You'll rest for the next few days, so you get accustomed to the surface. My employees will help you to get used to the constant presence of humans. Once that is done we'll do a public unveiling of your existence. Maybe we can get the media on this. Not long after that, there'll be a meeting with the mayor, and depending on the result of that meeting we'll…" Ciruel's plans were extremely detailed, having considered many diverse scenarios. He started talking quicker and quicker, all while Asriel stared, dumbfounded.

Patta had been right. Asriel was starting to understand there was something strange about Ciruel, just like at first there had been something strange with Patta. Patta had been getting better – at least their SOUL was healing and starting to regain strength. Maybe Ciruel's SOUL was unstable like Patta's had been. Asriel carefully tried to channel his magic so he could take a look at the scholar's SOUL, but before he could do it Ciruel stood up. "I'll be back in a moment" The scholar left the study in a great hurry, running as if he expected Asriel to try to stop him.

Asriel was thankful for the chance to think about everything he had heard, though. To be frank he was sure he would be able to fulfill Ciruel's expectations. He was the Prince of All Monsters. Ciruel was right, if there was anyone who should represent monsters it would be him.

It was just that Asriel didn't think it was the right time for such responsibility.

-ooooo-

Ciruel hadn't meant to babble all the plans to Asriel. He had gotten too excited and talked without thinking, and he knew exactly why: he wanted Asriel to accept, he wanted that so bad. That was also why right now he was running to the employees lounge.

In that room there was a cork board with lots of keys hanging from it, all of them labeled with what place it belonged to. Ciruel's eyes scanned the board until he found the right ones, and took them before running back to the hallways. A couple employees tried to ask him if there was something wrong, but he just waved and said it was something he should deal by himself.

A mere couple minutes after leaving Asriel along in the study Ciruel got to the guest bedrooms' hallway. All the doors were closed. Ciruel carefully listened on each door, trying to pinpoint where Patta was.

There they were! He could hear Patta talking to someone, most likely Frisk. Without hesitating, Ciruel took out the key for the bedroom and inserted it in the lock, turning it. The noise of the lock being set in place made Patta go silent. "Hey. Hey! What's going on here?!" Patta hit the door, but Ciruel wasn't there anymore. He was running back towards the study, ignoring the frantic banging on the door.

All Ciruel needed was for Asriel to agree. That was all. Then Asriel would convince Patta. There was nothing else Ciruel needed to do, it all relied on Asriel's approval.

Once he returned to the entrance of the study Ciruel took a moment to take a deep breath and make sure he didn't look like he ran around to lock people in bedrooms, and entered back. In moments like this he was glad his glasses were so foggy, at least Asriel wouldn't be able to see the unease in his eyes. "Sorry, there was something I remembered. So, what do you think?"

"Eh?"

"I asked you if you liked what you heard. This could all lead to humans working along with you to break the barrier, we'll find a way to do it" it seemed Ciruel didn't know about the need of human SOULs to break it.

Ciruel seemed so excited, so hopeful about a future where he would work along Asriel…the monster felt pretty bad about potentially destroying those hopes. He couldn't leave Ciruel fooled about what was going to happen that day, though, even if that was what Patta and Frisk wanted. It wasn't right.

"…um…C-Ciruel, we…are leaving shortly. I'm returning to Mt. Ebott"

Ciruel's smile didn't vanish immediately, but Asriel saw the corners of Ciruel's mouth twitch. "I'm sorry, I think I didn't hear correctly. Did you say…"

"We're leaving in an hour or two. Thank you for letting us stay for the night, but we need to go"

Now the smile did vanish. "You have to be kidding. Are you going to let this chance go? Why would you even want to return to the Underground? Do you understand you wouldn't ever be able to leave that place ever again?" his voice sounded strained, he was trying his best to keep his anxiousness under control.

"We're working to break the barrier! Besides my family is there…I can't stay up here without them or the rest of the monsters"

"I would take care of you! Patta would, too. We may not be your family but you can trust us"

Asriel shook his head. He wasn't willing to change his mind. It had been nice to be over the surface, and while he had some regrets he would be able to look back to his memories of this journey with fondness, but this was the day he'd return to the Underground. He had spent enough time gallivanting around on the surface.

Ciruel gripped his notebook and paced in front of the door of the studio. "You can't be serious. The world up here is much better than the Underground. Asriel, I'll show you the world, to both you and Patta. The three of us will see everything there's on Earth, you'll see wonders you can't even imagine! We will-we will break the barrier! Come on, you can't just go and leave us!"

"I can't! I must return" Asriel wasn't sure how he was supposed to argue, so he just repeated his wish.

"D-D-Don't be stupid, young man!" Ciruel almost dropped his notebook "You are here over the surface, people up here will love you, you'll have everything you can want and need. And we'll free your people! All you need to do is work with us, stop being so damn stubborn already!" the scholar was shouting, starting to sweat.

"No!"

"This is y-your destiny, Asriel! And it is m-m-m-mine too!" he blocked the door with his body "I'm sorry this has come to this, but _you can't go_! Stay, this is an order!"

 _"I won't stay!"_ Asriel didn't understand, why was Ciruel so vehement about keeping him over the surface? Just so Asriel could be the Ambassador? No, there had to be something else behind that. That didn't stop the monster from starting to get angry at the scholar's behavior, though.

"This can't be happening. This is what I was raised for, this is what I have been working for all my life, I can't fail" Ciruel muttered, holding his head. Asriel, who had been about to try to run away, stood completely still, observing Ciruel carefully.

"Are you okay?"

"There's…no more option for me. I must do it. I must keep going, even if it is not right, even if I don't want to…" Ciruel closed the doors of the study, making sure to be in front of them, and turned towards Asriel. A disquieting purple shine was radiating from Ciruel's chest, but the scholar didn't notice it. Only Asriel did. He knew very well what it was.

"Ciruel, calm down!"

"You have to stay! You…you…you are the future of humans and monsters! _You can't go!"_

The environment changed immediately. It darkened considerably, Asriel knew it was a FIGHT, but there was something very abnormal about his opponent. Ciruel's SOUL shone, purple and with its usual heart-shape, but it was a very unhealthy SOUL.

Patta's SOUL had been sickly too, but it had been the complete opposite to the SOUL Asriel was seeing right now. Patta's had been lacking in determination, their main quality, and as a consequence their SOUL had been almost gray.

Ciruel's SOUL was of an eye-watering saturated purple color. It was practically _oozing_ what Asriel supposed formed the SOUL in the first place, poisoning its host and causing the behaviors that had alarmed Patta and Asriel. Not only that, it wasn't reacting well to the FIGHT. The effects of engaging a FIGHT while having such a saturated SOUL happened shortly after it all darkened.

Purple tendrils shot out from Ciruel, connecting against Asriel's own monster SOUL before he could even move. Asriel froze, feeling something invisible constricting against his body, and saw a grid forming in the space where his SOUL was located. It didn't take long for Asriel to realize his SOUL could only move along that grid.

Ciruel, oblivious to what was going on with the FIGHT, didn't realize his emotions were out of control. All that mattered right now was that he had to stop Asriel. "I-I won't let you leave, young man! You won't go!"

 ***Ciruel is blocking the way!**

 ***Something is wrong**


	25. Purple Threads

Asriel couldn't move. There were no real purple threads holding him in place, but the purple SOUL's influence was unsettlingly strong. His monster SOUL was the only thing he could move, and even then it could only be done on the grid formed right in front of him. Ciruel didn't seem to be faring much better, either. The way he was trembling, the way his fists clenched…he was under a considerable amount of stress. The threads emerging from him held him in place, too, and his unstable SOUL shook as if it was going to shatter in any moment.

The monster has something clear: there's no way he was going to attack Ciruel. His SOUL was in no condition to resist any attacks. A single ember, no matter how weak, could make the SOUL burst like a water balloon, and Asriel didn't want to know how badly things would go if that happened. Death was the most obvious consequence, and in the nigh probability Ciruel survived, he had no idea how a human without a SOUL would fare.

 **ACT - CHECK**

 ***CIRUEL 23 ATK 16 DEF**

 *** PERSEVERANCE**

It was a decent amount of DEF and from what Asriel could see Ciruel had more HP than anyone else he had met so far, but it didn't mean anything if the SOUL was so unstable.

The only option to deal with this FIGHT was to make Ciruel get a grip on his emotions and stop it himself. Once that happened maybe his SOUL could begin to heal. "Listen, you need to let us go" Asriel said with as much calmness as he could muster.

"Let _you_ go?! That is not an option!" he shouted. His SOUL pulsed, white spheres travelling through the threads and taking form. It was an attack, brought from Ciruel's out of control emotions. It all take the shape of books, all of them positioned around Asriel's SOUL, conveniently following the purple threads imprisoning his SOUL. The books fell and crossed the air, forcing the monster SOUL to move along the threads to barely dodge the onslaught of books.

 **ACT - APPEASE**

 *** You try to calm Ciruel down.**

 *** He seems grateful.**

"Calm down. It's okay, please calm down" Shouting wasn't going to deal anywhere. Asriel's only option was to talk. Ciruel's breathing gets funny for a moment.

"Why would you even want to return to the Underground? Monsters don't belong there!"

More white spheres emerged from the scholar's SOUL, this time forming words that seemed to express what he was thinking. 'TO THE UNDERGROUND THEY RETREATED. TO NEVER BE SEEN EVER AGAIN. THAT WAS TO CHANGE'

 **ACT - APPEASE**

 *** You try to calm Ciruel down.**

 *** He completely ignores you.**

"I know that, but-"

"This is your chance to escape. You are dooming yourself to being trapped Underground forever. Get that already!"

While Ciruel spoke he was getting closer to Asriel, the threads between their SOULs getting taut. Ciruel grasped his notebook tighter and moved his hand wildly, as if he had tried to slam it onto Asriel's head. The monster was defenseless, unable to move, but thankfully it seemed he had enough restraint to not to actually hit Asriel.

 **ACT - LISTEN**

 *** You stay silent.**

 *** Ciruel continues his train of thought.**

While Ciruel thought of the best words he could use to convey his thoughts the purple strings shook, a series of large white fountain pens formed in the end of the threads, moving to pierce Asriel's SOUL. Most of the pens ended nailed onto the floor, but the floating monster SOUL hadn't suffered any damage. Moving along the lines was being of help to dodge all those attacks.

"M-m-my family has worked hard to understand monsters. We know you c-c-can't be happy trapped under a mountain. Please, stay! That's for the best!"

There! That could be useful. Staying calm and silent may not be effective either, at least that's the impression Asriel had. He had to make sure Ciruel understood, attacking verbally would be necessary.

 **ACT - CHALLENGE**

 *** You stand straight and argue.**

 *** Ciruel tries to defend himself.**

"The best for whom? For you?" Asriel wanted to wince, he thought he was being too direct. Asriel wasn't confrontational by nature – more often than not he followed other people, thinking they would know better than him – but unless he took the initiative this would lead nowhere.

"N-No, it isn't for me, it's for everyone!" Ciruel shook his head.

"You want me to stay because that's what _you_ want"

"That's not true! I want to help monsters!" the scholar shouted, the threads from his SOUL reverberating with the volume. It was amazing for Asriel that nobody had noticed what was going on in the study.

The shaking threads' vibrations reached the SOUL, Asriel feeling the tremors in his own body. It felt nasty, as if suddenly millions of ants were crawling in his fur, but at least it didn't seem to be harmful for him. He gritted his teeth, trying to listen to Ciruel.

 **ACT - LISTEN**

"If humans accept monsterkind then everything will be good. W-We will liberate everyone, no matter h-h-how long it takes, but you need to stay for that!"

While Ciruel seemed to sincerely wish to help monsters, to Asriel by now it was getting clear his drive to keep him over the surface was fueled by personal motives. Perseverance relied on the personal goals, after all. 'MONSTERKIND CAN'T SHATTER THE BARRIER. I CAN HELP. I MUST HELP'

 **ACT - LISTEN**

"This is where you should be, not trapped under Mt. Ebott!" Ciruel finished his train of thought. It wasn't hard to see what Asriel needed to pressure about. Ciruel did know he was doing the wrong thing.

The threads tightened.

 **ACT - CHALLENGE**

"I'm the Prince of All Monsters. My place is with the monsters" That was easier to say than questioning Ciruel's motivation like earlier, because that was something Asriel truly believed in. Ciruel's fists stopped shaking for a moment, as if what Asriel had said was a huge revelation, but the momentary composure was soon gone.

"I know, I know! I don't care! You need to-what I mean is-look, you need to stay! I….I…" Ciruel looked at his notebook, almost letting it fall onto the floor. It seemed he was mulling something, like he had an argument and wasn't sure how to word it.

 **ACT - APPEASE**

"Let's stop" Asriel suggested "You seem tired…"

"I-I'm okay, what I mean is that we can break the barrier. We can do it! How hard can it be? If humans set it up, then humans can destroy it! So stay up here and help us find the solution" Ciruel smiled for a moment, hopeful. It wasn't what Asriel was looking for, though. The moment Asriel shook his head Ciruel's smile disappeared "Why not?! Are you kidding me?!"

Ciruel almost threw the notebook at Asriel, but after a second or two of being ready to do it he sighed heavily and just swatted the air. He seemed to start calming down.

 **ACT - CHALLENGE**

"Do you know what you need to break the Barrier?"

The question caught Ciruel off-guard. He had been so worried about convincing Asriel he had lost sight about what he was saying. Knowing he had waded into unexplored terrain, Ciruel stammered a reply. "W-w-well how hard can it be? Surely with something hard enough, we can-"

"It isn't so simple!"

"Then tell me what we need, young man!"

Asriel hesitated. He didn't think mentioning human SOULs were the key to break the barrier was the right thing to do. Ciruel wasn't in his right mind, Asriel didn't want to risk him doing something brutal like trying to obtain seven human SOULs…or offer his own. "You need…Mom's magic. Yes, that is it" Asriel lied "Without Mom's magic breaking the barrier won't be possible"

"C-can't we contact her or something?" Ciruel tried to cling to any hope, but Asriel didn't waste any time crushing that possibility either "Damn it! Damn it all!" the scholar shouted, but it seemed talking had been useful in some way. A couple of the purple threads turned loose, as if whatever was holding them in place was weakening progressively.

Perseverance couldn't exist if the goal was _absolutely impossible_ to achieve, that was how it was different from determination, but giving Ciruel no option than admitting there was nothing he could do had been only half of the job. It wasn't over yet, though.

The white books falling along the threads returned, this time in less quantity and falling slower than before. That was a good sign!

Ciruel's name was yellow already. Sparing him was an option, but Asriel felt ending the FIGHT now wouldn't be right. There was still the matter of what could have caused Ciruel to be so emotionally overwhelmed. Asriel wanted to find out what it was and help him. While Ciruel organized his thoughts Asriel started struggling, trying to see if he could move more now. "Are you okay?"

"…I'm okay. I'm okay! We can't break the barrier but I can still take care of you. It's not over for me yet!"

"For you" There it was; he had finally admitted there were personal reasons in his fighting.

"M-my family, we have all studied monsters. I'm expected to follow their steps. I can't betray their expectations!"

With each word more books tried to crash against Asriel's SOUL, but the scholar's clear hesitation was affecting the speed of his subconscious attacks. It wasn't really a FIGHT anymore; it was more an endurance contest.

 **ACT - LISTEN**

"If I don't then I'll be a failure to everyone. I'll have failed my ancestors; I'll have failed myself. That's why…I need to keep you up here. Trust me, I don't want to, but what other option do I have?"

He was starting to relax. Asriel took it as a good sign. The fact the offensive magic formed by Ciruel's emotions was starting to slow down was a confirmation of that. His SOUL also diminished a bit in saturation, but it was far from being healthy yet. Ciruel himself showed signs of getting better, too. He raised his head and seemed much more composed than before.

The threads surrounding Asriel' SOUL loosened more, the grid it was on starting to waver and deform.

 **ACT - APPEASE**

"You don't need to do that. Surely if you take the time to think and-"

"You don't get it, do you?" he said bitterly "I have no other choice. It is what I have been told since I can remember. This is all I'm good for"

The threads started falling onto the floor, vanishing away. Asriel didn't want to find out what would happen if the threads his SOUL was on fell, just in case it was not good.

 **ACT - CHALLENGE**

"If you don't want to work in something about monsters why don't you change your job?"

"It is not that I don't want to. Don't get me wrong, I love this all, and I love monsterkind. Monsters are…like friends I have known for all my life. It's just that I…I…I can't…"

His self-doubt formed the fountain pens again, this time emerging from the floor, Asriel avoiding getting impaled on them by staying as high as possible in the grid.

 **ACT - LISTEN**

"…I can't fail. If I fail it is the same than negating my own existence. All I am is relying on this. If I fail, I don't think I…"

Nothing happened.

 **ACT - LISTEN**

"…I don't think I could face anyone ever again"

So that's what it was. Ciruel had a deep-seated fear of losing his personal identity, as it all relied on his success in this field of study. That wasn't something Asriel or Patta or anyone else would be able to solve. Ciruel himself was the only person capable of finding peace and healing their own SOUL.

It didn't mean Asriel wasn't going to try to at least nudge Ciruel towards what the child thought was the right path to follow. Asriel didn't know much – he was no more than a child, and this was an adult problem he was not sure how to deal with – but maybe to show some support would be good?

The grid crumbled away even more, only half of its original number of threads being left.

 **ACT - APPEASE**

"It's okay. Are you sure you need to achieve something?"

"That's what everyone expects of me…that is what I have been told since long ago. That's what everyone wants, and my job is to reach the goal that was set for me" Ciruel was completely calmed down by now, raising his head with something akin to pride. His perseverance may be causing havoc in his emotions, but in a way he was proud of what he needed to do.

Most of the grid was gone by now.

"Is that what you want?" Asriel felt that was the important question here. Ciruel mulled it for a few seconds before nodding resolutely.

"It is. I want to continue"

That wasn't the answer Asriel had expected. He fumbled with his words for a moment before continuing. "Maybe you don't have to meet their expectations"

"…I don't?" Ciruel raised his eyebrows as if this were a novel concept to him. Had that seriously not ever crossed his mind before?

"No!" Asriel thought for a moment what Toriel would say. He had been basing his own words on what he imagined she would say. He imagined Toriel as if she were talking to him, and a few words resonated in his mind. "Can't you see what you have been doing to yourself?"

Ciruel got completely still for a moment. "What I have done to myself…I…I…" Ciruel's SOUL shone brighter for a moment, the purple threads shaking strongly. Asriel felt the pressure on his SOUL loosening, it seemed Ciruel was getting his emotions under control.

The scholar dropped his notebook. The threads disintegrated, the environment around them fading away. He looked around the study as if it had been an unfamiliar place for him. "…I have been a major idiot"

"What do you mean?"

"All these years I have barely thought about anything else other than what's expected of me. I was obsessed…I let myself be directed by those expectations. I…don't know how it happened"

"Do you know what a SOUL is?" Asriel didn't know much but he thought it was the cause of Ciruel's behavior.

"A soul? Of course I do. The human soul weighs 21 grams, smells like grilled vegetables, looks like a wrinkled tartan quilt, and sounds like bridge traffic. That has nothing to do with this" Asriel's eyes widened in disbelief. SOULs didn't fit that description at all! "Or maybe it does. A soul is what defines a person. Since I let myself be defined by the image of myself that demanded to meet those unrealistic expectations it could be said my soul was no more than that. I see what you mean" Asriel shrugged in response to Ciruel's words. Maybe Ciruel's concept of soul wasn't so different to what Asriel meant.

"And now what?"

"I suppose I'll take a vacation first. I'll rest, take the time to think, and once I return I'll continue with my work at my own pace. Monsters are my life but from now on I won't let anyone but myself tell me what I should do or how far I need to get" Ciruel picked his notebook up, opening it and reading the content with fondness. He seemed…content "I got a start already. It's up to me to bring it all to something worthwhile"

Asriel could see Ciruel's SOUL still had that saturated purple color. An unstable SOUL wouldn't heal immediately, as expected. Patta's had been healing progressively, it was to be expected Ciruel's would slowly temper until it reached a balance, at least as long as Ciruel willed it. Asriel didn't understand very well how human SOULs or even monster SOULs were supposed to work, but he did know Ciruel was the only one who could heal it.

* * *

 _It seems to me human SOULs are more attuned to our emotions and minds than to anything else. The person draws strength from the SOUL and SOULs are formed by that person's emotions, forming a continuous cycle._

 _Monster SOULs are something I don't understand beyond the most basic theories. It must be because I was human and despite my…current life status…I'll always be human. My own SOUL is the proof of that._

* * *

"Asriel, please return to your home" Ciruel ordered, getting away from the study doors and getting back to his desk "I'm very sorry for everything I did"

"Golly, it's…okay, I guess" Asriel said, smiling. The apology was accepted and it was good to be let go, but Asriel wished he could see Ciruel's SOUL heal, at least to be sure the scholar would be okay.

"The day has just started. It is nine in the morning, if you and your friends leave now I think you'd reach the mountain in one hour or so. If you use a cab, that is. Got money for that?" Ciruel seemed ready to take out his wallet to give Asriel all the money they needed. Asriel still had some gold, unused and most likely never going to be exchanged for cash. With some luck Patta would have enough money, but it wouldn't hurt to ask for a loan, right?

After Asriel gave Ciruel two gold and received in exchange more than enough money for the cab trip – and for a couple weeks of life without worries as a gift for Patta, a thank you for escorting him to Mt. Ebott – the monster opened the doors of the study. "Hey! Young man, there's something else you need" Ciruel stood up, having remembered something. He took out of his pocket a key, giving it to Asriel "Don't ask why, but I heard the door of Patta's bedroom got locked"

Asriel tilted his head "Why would you lock them in their bedroom?"

"I hadn't wanted to say I had done it" Ciruel smiled with regret "Just go already"

It didn't take more than a few seconds for Asriel to guess why Ciruel would do that. Narrowing his eyes, Asriel exhaled loudly and took the key, deciding not to tell the scholar what he thought about locking Patta in a room. After all, Asriel figured Ciruel wouldn't do something like that ever again. At least he wanted to believe that. Soon Asriel was running down the hallway towards the guest bedrooms, clutching the key in his hand.

It seemed the place Patta and Frisk were in was the bedroom temporally belonging to Frisk. First Asriel pulled his ear away and placed his head against the door, trying to listen inside. He couldn't hear steps, but there were murmurs. It didn't sound like Frisk. Relieved it didn't seem like his friends were in trouble, Asriel inserted the key in the lock and opened the door.

"Damn it, somebody is coming!" Patta said while Asriel was opening the door.

"Patta! Are you and Fr…" Asriel's voice trailed off while he looked around the bedroom.

The mattress on the bed frame was upturned and bare, the fabric of its wrapping in plain sight. The rest of the bedroom seemed like somebody had tried to rob stuff. Practically all the furniture was strewn around, and the nightstand seemed quite battered. The curtains were gone, and the glass of the window was broken, a large jagged hole overtaking most of the pane.

The adult in the room relaxed once they saw who it was. There was something amusing in seeing Asriel slack-jawed. They hadn't wrecked the room that much, right? "Asriel! Did anything happen to you? We were going to look for you!"

"…what happened here?!" Asriel exclaimed, snapping his mouth shut at the end once he realized he had been staring in obvious surprise.

"Uuuh…well the door was locked, and the window seemed to be stuck, so we had to break the glass. We were desperate, okay?"

"Where is Frisk?" This room was in a second floor! It wasn't _that_ high but it was possible Frisk could get hurt if they jumped. Patta turned to the window, peeking outside.

"Frisk! Are you okay?" they called, Asriel soon joining them despite the sharp glass shards around the hole. There was Frisk, lying on the ground outside! There was also a long rope formed with the curtains and the bedsheet, the end of it tied around Frisk as a harness of sorts. Frisk raised their arm and flashed a thumbs up. Despite falling from a little below the window it seemed they weren't hurt. "…I need a cig" Patta muttered.

Now that they had made sure Frisk was okay Asriel tried to make the bedroom look less chaotic. He tried to lift the nightstand, finding it to be quite heavy. Patta must have been stronger than they looked! They took the nightstand and placed it where they had taken it to break the windowpane.

There wasn't much they could do, so after setting the mattress back onto the bed frame Asriel and Patta left the bedroom. While they were doing that Asriel confessed he had gone to say goodbye to Ciruel, and that Ciruel had been the one to lock the door. The monster didn't tell most of the events of the study, instead saying Ciruel had wanted to keep them for a while longer but had regretted it after talking to Asriel. Patta was somebody Asriel trusted, but revealing Ciruel's personal' problems didn't mesh well with him.

"Ciruel? We're leaving" Patta said, finding Ciruel in his study. The scholar was sitting in his chair, staring towards the mountain outside.

"Alright. Thank you for having stayed the night, esteemed guests. It was a pleasure to know you" he said, waving without turning around. It seemed he was deep in thought and didn't want interruptions.

"Thank you for letting us stay. Eeeh…here is the key to a bedroom. And…" Patta left the key on the desk and went back to the study doors, just in case. "…and sorry for the mess. We had to break a window. W-We'll get going now!" Asriel and Patta practically ran away. While they ran they heard a 'Wait, what?' echoing from the study.

"Shouldn't we pay for the window?" Asriel asked while running.

"His actions are what led to me breaking it" Patta excused themselves, but Asriel somehow took the time to stop and glare at Patta "Come on, Asriel! We have to get Frisk and get away" they said while crossing the entrance door. Asriel sighed. Thankfully it wasn't as often now as it was during the first two days, but Patta could still be kind of a handful.

-ooooo-

After Asriel managed to subdue Patta's slight misbehavior after ten minutes of more glaring and a couple statements about how disappointing it was for Patta to not to pay for the window the adult finally relented. Frisk, taking a role as a spectator, smiled to Asriel when the group returned to the study, where Ciruel was waiting, having already checked the damage to the bedroom. While Ciruel wasn't happy at all, he didn't accept the money Patta tried to give him, saying it was his fault Patta had needed to break the windowpane in the first place. Once they returned outside, Patta, in a moment of childish pride, turning to Asriel with the smuggest smirk they could muster. "Told you"

"Where did you learn to glare?" Frisk asked, impressed. Asriel, blushing slightly, laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"That's how Mom looks at that when she really wants him to do something and he hesitates. Dad is the king, but Mom has a lot of ideas and suggestions. Some says she is 'the brains behind the king' I think" he explained.

"That was great!"

"I'm not very good at it. If Mom were here I bet Patta would have yielded in just a minute or less"

"Your mother sounds fearsome" Patta said. The group was now leaving the manor fields, entering the long path lined with trees.

"She is! She is awesome!" Asriel's eyes were shining with pride. He immediately started to extol the virtues of Toriel, showing great deal of love and concern for his mother. Frisk was rather impressed, and confessed they would be a bit nervous to meet her. Patta listened patiently, supposing they wouldn't even know what to say to her.

Asriel's appreciation speech lasted almost all the way to the bottom of the hill where the road joined back with the streets. "Okay, so…the plan is to take a cab to get to the mountain, now that we finally have enough money for that. Once we get there we'll climb Mt. Ebott and find a way for Asriel to enter the Underground. It shouldn't take more than three hours; I'd say"

"I almost can't believe I'll be back home in just a few hours…" Asriel said.

"You will, don't worry" Patta said and then turned towards Frisk "…Frisk, you were a great support to us during these days. Thank you for everything" Frisk nodded and looked at the ground. They didn't really want to tell Patta they were going to go into the underground and abandon the surface, possibly for the rest of their life. Maybe they could hide their real intentions, though?

"…I want to be with Azzy for as long as possible" they mumbled, getting closer to Asriel "Let me go to the mountain too"

"I would like that" Asriel said. He wanted Frisk to be with him in the Underground, after all. It was a selfish thought but now that the surprise of hearing Frisk deny humanity Asriel had decided to embrace the chance no matter what. Patta didn't need to know about it.

* * *

 _…we're all selfish to a fault, aren't we?_

* * *

"I don't know; I don't think there's enough money for three cab trips" Patta said.

"I'll wait for you to return! Then we can return together and it'll be only two trips" Frisk distorted the plan. Patta seemed to be about to express more concern, so Frisk hurried to add something more "I can take care of myself! I have done it for years already. I can do it for a few hours more while you return"

"…fine. You can come with us" Patta conceded. Their impression of Frisk's wish was that they only planned to reach the mountain, not climb it, and that was fine. To be frank Patta felt bad for Frisk, because they clearly considered Asriel a good friend, and it was likely they wouldn't see him ever again. May as well let them be together for a bit longer.

Frisk grinned, relieved. The end of the path was just a few feet away. In matter of minutes the group would be on track towards Mt. Ebott, and towards the moment that would drastically change all three of their lives.

* * *

 _If any of us had even suspected what would happen on that mountain we wouldn't have dared to approach it. I really hate how timelines seem so unmalleable. There's no other option than letting it happen. I won't try to modify it again._

 _I already damaged this timeline enough._

* * *

-ooooo-

Ciruel bit the pen, rereading what he had just written. Asriel was gone, and if he had to be completely honest he hated that, but it was the right thing. Patta and Frisk would take care of Asriel until the monster child was back into the Underground. Ciruel hoped he'd be okay. The scholar had also buried his notebook in the shelves, intending to not to look at it for quite some time.

Now he was with a new notebook, writing plans for the next few months after a short vacation. It seemed the world had suddenly conspired to make him work, though, and he was largely responsible for that. He had just finished a call with the laboratory he had sent Asriel's fur sample to. While there had been no DNA analysis – the fur wasn't good enough for that, apparently - the laboratory had detected strange traits that mesmerized the scientists working there, and now they were demanding Ciruel to tell them from what that fur came from.

The shock had been so strong those scientists were already spreading word about their findings, getting other scientists involved and apparently sending some of that fur to other laboratories. Ciruel supposed the scientific community of the country would cause a lot of hubbub for some time. Somebody had theorized the fur was from a monster. That, coupled with the rumors that had been going around the city for some days already, was starting to get a lot of interest country-wide.

At least that was what somebody had informed Ciruel about shortly after Asriel, Patta and Frisk left.

"Monster bodies are made of magic, that must be why the fur is so different to the fur of any earth animal. I wish they weren't so cagey about what's so weird about it" Ciruel smiled slightly, closing his notebook when the door of the study opened, one of his employees barging in "What is it?"

"The radio station called. They want to know if you'd be willing to talk about monsterkind in a couple hours"

Ciruel took off his glasses and buried his face in his hands. "A couple hours? Really?"

"Apparently they changed today's programming to include a segment about monsters. Haven't you noticed yet? The whole city is talking about monsters!" the employee approached, showing Ciruel several posts and threads from the social networks. Indeed, monsters was the main topic. In a couple of those threads a photo was attached, and indeed, it depicted Asriel and a teenager Ciruel didn't know.

"No way…does everyone believe the monster in that photo is real?"

"They do. The teenager was cornered and forced to give some testimony about it. This and the rumors are making everyone think it is real. It is not bad, right?"

The scholar crossed his arms. "Depends of what people think about monsters".

The employee scrolled through the feed of the social networks. "You won't believe it. The response is…

…overwhelmingly positive"

Overwhelmingly positive. Those two words stunned Ciruel. He had expected just around 50% approval for monsters, not "overwhelmingly positive". The employee remarked he had to scroll for a long while to find a negative message. It was almost unreal how there was so much acceptance for Asriel.

"I think it's because of the photo" the employee said "The monster appears defenseless, harmless…and inspires sympathy. Look at his eyes, it seems like he was caught in the photo against his will. It'd be hard to think this monster could try to hurt anyone, don't you think?"

"Asriel is nice, but I doubt he is a fuzzy pushover" Ciruel supposed. He hadn't seen Asriel's fighting skills but surely he had a couple tricks ready. Magic works like that.

"Besides he is cute _and_ a child! That makes him more endearing to the general public" the employee kept scrolling "There's also a picture of that person he was traveling with, and a few posts specifically mention Frisk. That must be another reason he's being accepted, because he has been with two humans and they seem to get along very well"

Ciruel felt a strange feeling of pleasantness. There was something calming in how Asriel was being accepted by the general public, all because of a series of circumstances neither Asriel nor his companions had planned. This convinced Ciruel that, if Asriel had chosen to stay over the surface, things would have gone well.

After telling the employee that he accepted to go to the radio station in two hours Ciruel let himself relax. It didn't last long, though, because another person entered, and it was someone Ciruel knew very well and was happy to see. "Cohen!"

"Yo!" Cohen waved, approaching with energy. His bandanna had the Youth Troop pin, as usual "How's it going? Did the monster come here?"

"He did, but he is already gone"

Cohen frowned. "Damn it, I hoped to meet him. But I don't get it, after everything you have done why would you let him go? Oh, I get it! He escaped!"

"He didn't escape, I let him go" Ciruel wasn't going to tell Cohen what he did, that was for sure.

"…no, I don't get it. Why did you let him go? What about your plans, what about monsters living among humans?"

"I decided it wasn't the right thing, forcing him to stay here. Asriel belongs with his family, with his people. We can't keep him up here, even if I wanted" Ciruel said proudly, as if that had been his stance since the beginning. Cohen didn't take it very well, though. His gloved fists were risen as if he was preparing himself to punch Ciruel in the face.

"But we have sacrificed so much for this! We can't let it end like this. Do you even know what people are saying about the monster? They are okay with him! They want him! This is what you and me were hoping for, why would you go against that all?"

"This was a mistake, Cohen. Let's not continue" the scholar frowned. Was that how he had been acting just an hour ago? Like Cohen was right now? "Come here, let's calm down and talk" Cohen obeyed. Despite his initial outrage he seemed pretty calm. Ciruel didn't know much, but it seemed Cohen wasn't a case similar to his. Cohen was sane.

It was more that Cohen was an inexperienced teenager. He had an idea for the future but he hadn't realized the consequences and implications it could have. He had the drive and the will, without the experience of adulthood to help balance it.

Cohen sat with Ciruel, looking through the window. They stayed in silence for a moment before the teenager sighed. "I think I have ruined everything I had in the Youth Troop"

"What do you mean?"

"I lost my friends…I lost the respect I had from other people…I really screwed up. I don't know what I will do"

"It's not all so bad, you haven't lost my friendship. That is good for something, right?"

Cohen smiled "It is, but…this feels so empty. I don't want this to have happened for nothing. If the monster leaves I don't know what I will do"

"You'll think of something. You're young and brave, you will be okay"

"I know I will be okay! All I want is to know this was all worth it. Have you seen the photo that has spread in the social networks! I uploaded it. I uploaded all the evidence about the monster's existence. In matter of hours most of the city believed the monster exists and now they to see him. They are all looking for him"

"They are?" That may not be good.

"Yes, they are. Nobody plans to hurt him…I think…but they want to see him! There must be a way"

"Asriel wants to return home" Ciruel said with a certain bluntness in his tone "Leave him be"

"Oooor…no, I think I see now. The monster was influenced, wasn't he?" Cohen turned to look at Ciruel "The person with him, they must have told Asriel to ignore your proposal. It's their fault" The scholar shook his head, going to confess he had locked Patta away to talk to Asriel alone, but before he could do it Cohen stood up with new panache "Yeah, that is it! I see what I need to do. All I need to do is to talk to the monster without that person or Frisk intervening. It's that easy"

"It won't work"

"I can convince him! That can work, yo. Look, if the monster agrees to stay it is all okay. Let me talk to him. He's going to Mt. Ebott. I'll try to catch up to them"

"How are you even going to do it?"

"Hmmm…" Cohen shrugged "Sooner or later someone will see the monster and alert everyone else of his position. I'll take advantage of that and get there before anyone else does. That'll work" Cohen trotted towards the doors of the study. Ciruel didn't really make a move to stop him, mostly because he believed Cohen wouldn't reach Asriel's group in time.

Cohen left without even saying goodbye, enthusiastic about the possibility of one last chance at convincing Asriel. He was closer to age to Asriel, surely there was something he could say that would do the trick. The problem was Patta and Frisk, but Cohen was more worried about the adult than about Frisk. There wasn't much time to think what to do.

All there was to do was keep an eye on any messages in the social networks and get going towards Mt. Ebott. With some luck they would encounter Asriel before the media got to him. Maybe he had been a bit too rash bringing all that attention to the monster. Maybe he could use it to his advantage.

Cohen was prepared.


	26. Purple SOUL

**Warning: the chapter contains suicide.**

* * *

After making sure Asriel had the raincoat on, Patta left him and Frisk step onto the sidewalk out of the path that led to Ciruel's manor. It was not a good disguise – the sun was shining bright and there were no signs of potential rain – so it was the best they had, as it could completely cover Asriel. If anyone asked Patta planned to say the kid wearing the raincoat had extremely sensible skin.

Frisk stopped a cab, opening the doors and immediately going in. The driver didn't show any interest in Patta or Asriel, not doing more than looking through the rearview mirror for a moment before focusing on the road. Asriel made sure there was not even an inch of fur peeking out of the raincoat.

"Where do you want to go?" the driver asked.

"Mt. Ebott, please" Patta answered. As they expected the driver didn't immediately drive away, instead turning around to stare at Patta. Frisk facepalmed, that was exactly what Patta shouldn't have said.

"Why would you three want to go there? It's no place for tourism or a Sunday expedition"

"We won't climb the mountain" Frisk intervened "We want to go to the parks that are in that area"

"I won't take you to the mountain and you shouldn't go" the driver said, his tone showing there would be no discussion "I will take you to the nature trails, but remember to stay away from Mt. Ebott. We're proud of our tourist attractions but the mountain is not one of them. It's dangerous"

"We know"

It seemed Frisk had managed to convince the driver they weren't planning to climb Mt. Ebott and risk their lives in the process, as soon he started to drive. Asriel really wanted to look through the window, breathe some fresh air, but he had to keep his head and face covered. It was annoying.

* * *

 _I didn't know about what happened in Ciruel's study until I checked the entire timeline. Once I saw that I had a lot of time to think about it. Time is all I have now, so…_

 _As I said before human SOULs aren't as well attuned to our bodies and minds like monster SOULs are, but they do seem to be closely linked to our emotions, I think. It's quite rare for a SOUL to be sick like it happened to me and Ciruel, though. Me, defeatist person I was for around nine years, had a very weak and sickly SOUL, as I had practically given up at absolutely everything. I don't know what would have happened if more time had passed while I kept that mindset._

 _But it's could also possible to overload oneself with that quality, which has the potential to be as dangerous as lacking the quality. That is what happened to Ciruel. So how does such afflictions of the SOUL happen? I think a constant and prolonged detrimental emotional damage is what causes them._

 _It doesn't happen immediately. It took nine years for my SOUL to weaken so much. Ciruel's problem must have gone for much longer than that. He said a few times he was raised for this all, so…his SOUL must have started to be sick since he was a kid._

 _When he fell Underground his SOUL didn't seem to be sick. Ciruel was quite a curious kid, taking his situation with interest and joy. All he did was dust off his clothes and walk into the Ruins without fear, gripping his notebook and pen. His first action when he saw a Froggit was to gasp and approach running. I'm sure his eyes must have been sparkling behind his glasses. The Froggit ran away, startled, but Ciruel didn't care. He was so excited!_

 _Toriel didn't find Ciruel, Ciruel found her. She was there, trying to find out why the tree in front of her house was so dead, when she felt someone looking at her. There was Ciruel, staring at her with amazement. "Are you a goat?" that was his first question._

 _Ciruel wasn't in a hurry to return home. He was happy, surrounded by the people his ancestors had studied for so long. He confessed he had climbed Mt. Ebott to try to find a way Underground. "My father would be proud if I brought him proof of the existence of monsters" he had said "I wanted to bring that to him". Ciruel was quite eager to learn, and Toriel was willing to teach him everything he asked._

 _The empty notebook Ciruel carried was soon half-filled with everything Ciruel learned, but his curiosity was insatiable. That's why she requested Toriel to let him go outside, see the rest of the Underground, but she hesitated. "I'm trapped here Underground but I don't care. I want to see everything there is to see down here. Please, let me go!" he begged. It took a while for Toriel to let him leave the Ruins._

 _He…didn't do too badly. His curiosity was what fueled him. Every time he saw a monster he'd approach and ask a barrage of questions. He drew stuff in his notebook, made maps…I think it may have been the happiest time of his life. He considered living in Snowdin, but judged it too cold, so he moved onto Waterfall._

 _Ciruel was also very good at avoiding the Rhoyal Guard. He traversed Waterfall, avoiding everyone, but his curiosity got the better of him. He entered a cave, finding Gerson's shop. He had recently established the shop._

 _Gerson wasn't interested in fighting the human. He welcomed him, offered his products and allowed Ciruel to ask anything he wanted. Ciruel had no money, but he had youthful enthusiasm, and Gerson appreciated it. Ciruel considered Gerson a friend, and Gerson, fond of the kid, offered to let him stay for as long as he wanted._

 _It wasn't long before Ciruel heard about the Barrier and what was required to break it. He asked if they had gathered any human SOULs and Gerson didn't hesitate to say King Fluffybuns had three. Yes, Gerson said it like that. Maybe he was trying to make Asgore not sound so threatening? Ciruel took it rather well. Ciruel explored Waterfall, found the Echo Flowers, looked for secrets and stayed out of trouble._

 _He had grown being taught about monsters. Although he had never seen one, he loved monsters. And now that he had been among them, learned so much directly from them and finally known them in person, that love intensified._

 _It took him a few days to take a decision. While Gerson was away Ciruel took a page of his notebook and wrote a note for Gerson of where he could find him, along with a map. It was pointing at a field of Echo Flowers. Gerson found the note an hour later, and decided to go to the place indicated in the map._

 _In the field there was a creek of that weird glowing water that filled Waterfall's swamps. On the edge of that creek Gerson found Ciruel's notebook and glasses, left there by the child. Not too far away from those, immersed in the water, he found Ciruel's body._

 _…_

 _…before entering the stream Ciruel seemed to have been trying to convince himself, and the nearby Echo Flowers caught a few words of what he was repeating over and over. "Everyone would be proud if I helped monsters be free. That's what I want to do. That's what I exist for"_

 _…_

 _Ciruel is a much more generous person than anyone could have given him credit for. When I met him I had thought of him as annoying and strange, but now…after watching my timeline so many times…I can see that was an effort to connect with other people. He is not a selfish person. His behavior when I met with him wasn't the real Ciruel, so to say. I wish I had treated him better._

 _To literally give your life for other people is not an easy decision, nor it is a smart decision. Ciruel did it because he wanted monsters to be free. Frisk is currently trapping themselves – and everyone else, but that's not the point – in a constant time loop because he wants a perfect ending. Chara…well, they gave their life without thinking about other people's benefit, but it seems to me they partly did it because of monsters too._

 _And then there's Asriel._ **I hate when he does it.**

 _The first time he turned himself into a martyr I immediately destroyed that timeline. I didn't care it was the first time monsters would get to the surface. I didn't care Frisk had gone through a lot of effort to achieve it. I was so angry I took that timeline and restarted it to the point Frisk had fallen Underground. To see he was going to let himself stay Underground, alone and miserable as a flower…. I feel frustrated just thinking about it! If I had blood I'm sure it'd be boiling right now._

 _It took me a good dozen timelines like that one to not to destroy the timelines because I didn't like the result. It still makes me angry to see Asriel sacrificing himself. I don't care if he has no other option, it is stupid!_

 _…_

 _…it reminds me too much of myself._

* * *

The ride in the cab was uneventful and went in silence, mostly. Frisk looked through the window, in a way giving a silent farewell to the city they had lived in for ten years. Patta was gathering courage to climb Mt. Ebott – the legend continued resonating in their mind and frankly it terrified them – and from time to time they asked Asriel if he was getting carsick. Asriel, who continued huddled against the door, trying hard not to give the driver reasons to suspect there was a monster in his cab.

It was only matter of minutes before the cab reached the suburbs. Quaint houses lined the streets, with the stereotypical front yards and porches. In a way it reminded Patta of their town, calm and almost idyllic.

The cab stopped in front of a traffic light, waiting it to change to green. While they waited, the cab driver took out his smartphone, taking the moment to check on whatever social matters he had there. Patta couldn't see very well from the seats, Frisk was too busy with the view outside and Asriel was too busy trying not to get carsick, so none of them noticed the large photo showing in the driver's smartphone's feed.

The driver narrowed his eyes and turned around. Yes, the adult passenger looked like the person in the photo. "Excuse me, do you mind if I look at that child's face for a moment?" the driver requested, pointing at Asriel with his thumb. Patta, caught by surprise, hesitated.

"I think there's no need for that" they replied. Frisk slowly started to open the door. Asriel, having heard the driver's request, stayed completely still.

"I have the right to deny service if I feel there's something suspicious going on. You don't have anything to hide, do you?"

"We don't, but…he has sensitive skin. Yeah, that is it" it was a very bad excuse and Patta knew it. The driver turned around and started typing a message without any of the passengers noticing it.

"It's only for a second. You don't even have to take off the hood. All I need is a glance to his face" Nobody replied, so the driver sighed "I know it's the monster. Am I right?"

"Uuuuuh…" Patta had gone pale. Asriel, knowing the situation was about to go pear-shaped, sat and got ready to run away if it was necessary.

"Let me see, I want to see the monster. I saw the photo, but I want see him in person" the driver extended his hand, trying to grasp the hoodie to take it off. That was it.

Frisk opened the door wide and ran away in direction of Mt. Ebott, crossing the street. The driver froze, shouting through the window for Frisk to return. Patta and Asriel didn't waste any time. They managed to get off the cab just when the driver opened the door to get off too, but the driver was fast enough to catch them. He managed to grab the raincoat.

"Let him go!" Patta shouted, returning as if they intended to fight the driver.

"I won't hurt him! Why are you running away?" the driver pulled from the raincoat. Asriel, realizing there was only one option, unbuttoned the raincoat and escaped from it, the driver losing his balance for a moment. That moment was enough. Asriel and Patta crossed the street, running, just in time for the traffic light to change and force the cab to stay where it was. The driver entered it and verified the message they had written.

It was the general location of where he was right now. After adding a short note about the monster and his companions running on foot, he sent it. It wasn't long before it spread.


	27. Fugitives

Patta had been awake for just a few hours and this already seemed to be a bad day.

First they got locked in a bedroom, forced to break a window to try to escape, and now they had to run in broad daylight, with a monster being paraded in plain sight. What was worse, while Patta wasn't slow at running, he couldn't go too fast or he'd leave the children behind. "Come on, you two! Faster!" it was difficult to find a good balance between shouting loud enough for the children to hear, low enough to not to attract attention, and the lack of breath they had.

"I'm…running as fast as I can!" Asriel wheezed. The three had been running for several minutes already, trying to get away as fat as possible from the car.

"Then be faster!"

And to make it all worse, the streets weren't exactly deserted. There weren't many pedestrians walking, but from time to time there were people on the front yards, children and adults staring at Asriel while they ran in front of the houses. Nobody tried to stop him, all they did was stare. Some did try to get a video of Asriel, but nobody intervened or even attempted to talk to them.

All in all, this was precisely the situation Patta wanted to avoid: everyone gawking at Asriel.

"Frisk, we need to get away from everyone" Patta said when they stopped for a moment to breathe.

"I know, let me think. Where are we?"

"I'm so tired, Patta…" Asriel complained, leaning against a fence. He could see people staring at him from behind the windows of the nearest houses.

"Don't give up! We're so close, we can't give up!" Patta replied immediately, surprising themselves with the determination in their voice. Just a few days ago they wouldn't have said something like that with complete honesty.

"I'm fine, I can…I can keep going…" Asriel stumbled forward, trying to prepare himself for a while more of running. He walked to the corner of the block, staring down the streets. In the distance there was a group of people, around eight in total and ranging from children to mature adults, all walking in their direction. From what Asriel could see they were pointing at him. "Uh-oh"

"What?"

"There's a group coming over here!" Asriel moved backwards, getting out of the sight of the group. When Patta went to look they found the group wasn't walking anymore. It was now running.

"Damn it! Enough rest, let's go!" Patta ordered, immediately grabbing Asriel's wirst and pulling from him. Frisk, having heard everything, followed them immediately, still thinking of possible escape routes.

"I got it!" they shouted when they got to the end of the next block. Behind them the group was starting to slow down, although there were a couple people who were quicker than the rest "I know where we are. There is…there is a forest near here!"

"A forest?" That wasn't a bad idea. It would be a tad harder to move but at least there were chances to hide "Take us there!"

"Follow me!" Frisk took the lead, pointing towards an adjacent street. Asriel and Patta followed without protest, there was no time to stand around and discuss. The more time passed, the more people joined the group pursuing them. Slowly, the group got closer and closer until they could hear what they were saying.

"Can you see it?"

"I think I do! It is a dog!"

"No, it was a rabbit"

"It's a goat"

"A goat? But it has no horns!"

"Do you think it speaks our language?"

"Of course not. Monsters must have their own language"

"Maybe we shouldn't be running towards it. We could scare it"

"How else are we going to see a monster?! Look where it is going!"

"Mount Ebott!"

"Do you think they had something to do with the missing people?"

"I want to ask that once we get close enough"

Asriel turned his head around. "Monsters know nothing about that!" The group of pursuers slowed down.

"It heard us!"

"Dogs have a great sense of hearing"

"It is not a dog, you moron!"

Patta was starting to feel a pain on their side. "Frisk, how far is that forest?"

"It's over there!" Frisk turned around another corner, managing to smile in relief when they saw the barrier of trees around eighty feet away. The pursuers noticed where Frisk was leading them to.

"They are going to the forest!"

"I don't want to go in there"

"Why do they want to take the monster away? I just want to talk to it"

"Do you think they are hiding something?"

"It is just a child! It can't be hiding anything"

Patta couldn't distinguish very well what the pursuers were saying, but as far as they knew it couldn't be anything good. They didn't know what Ciruel knew, Patta thought that, if the group reached them, they would try to hurt Asriel. In the mind of Asriel, Patta, and Frisk the monster was in danger. If they had known the group was just curious and eager to meet a monster maybe they wouldn't have tried so fast to run away, but in that moment they only cared about getting away.

The three entered the forest, sprinting over the roots and the leaves that littered the floor. Frisk seemed to be having trouble running over the uneven terrain, so while Asriel went ahead Patta practically lifted Frisk in the air and ran with them in their arms, ignoring the burning feeling in their legs. Frantically, they looked around. They had missed where Asriel had gone, but before Patta could go look for him Frisk stopped them.

"I think they went over here" an unknown voice said. It seemed the pursuers were less now.

"We scared them. I told you we should have been subtler"

"Nobody asked you!"

Frisk was completely silent. Patta left them on the ground, having seen a possible hideout while the group went away. It was a small crevice on the soft soil of the forest, filled with damp leaves. Asriel was nowhere to be seen in there. Patta wanted to run, shout Asriel's name, but Frisk again stopped them. Instead they hid in the crevice, lying down and sinking into the leaves. The voices of the pursuers got louder, Patta could hear the crunching of the dirt while they approached. From the sound of the voices it seemed the youngest people in the group of pursuers had gone into the forest.

"…the monster had white fur, that should be easy to see. How can it have vanished in thin air?"

"The guys it was with are gone, too"

"Look for footprints"

"Footprints? Wouldn't it be pawprints?"

"Does it matter?"

Patta tried to silence their breathing and waited. It wasn't long before the voices and its owners went away, but just in case Patta and Frisk stayed among the leaves in the crevice for several minutes more. 'Asriel, please, don't be lost. It happened yesterday, it can't be happening again!' they thought.

-ooooo-

Asriel had never thought the next time he'd climb a tree would be to save his life, or at least that is how he saw it.

He wasn't a paranoid kid. The recent experiences had ended reinforcing his view of the world of believing in the goodness in people, but that didn't mean he would stand there and let himself be in potential danger. He had listened to everything the pursuers had said, and the impression he had was that they were blaming monsters for the disappearances at Mt. Ebott. The worst scenarios immediately jumped to mind. What if they captured him, or sent him to the guard of the city, or even tried to take revenge somehow? Asriel thought of what Patta would do: not even give them a chance to do it.

Once Frisk led him and Patta into the forest Asriel knew it would all be okay. Running on the streets of the suburbs was not good if the purpose was to be stealthy. The forest was a completely different matter. Although his fur stood out quite a bit, he had skills that would come handy, a byproduct of exploring the Snowdin forests. The terrain was no problem at all.

As soon as Asriel saw the chance he made sure to get Frisk's attention. "I'm going up" he said, trusting Frisk would tell Patta. Without even waiting for a reply Asriel ran a bit further into the lush forest and latched onto a tree with his claws, doing the same thing he had done in the forest behind Patta's house. Climbing the tree was no problem at all. The tree was full of leaves and branches; it was unlikely anyone was going to look upwards. Even if they did chances were they wouldn't see him.

A couple minutes later Asriel saw the people who had been following him and his friends. From the dozen or so people that had formed the group when they got to the forest only four were together now, they seemed to be of Patta's age and older. Asriel made sure not to move and listened to what the pursuers were saying.

"…looked like an animal. Jung, you were in the Youth Troop. Are you sure you can't you find prints or something?"

"There are some but I don't know what made it. I don't want to end following a random stray dog!"

"Sis said monsters can be dangerous. When Dad showed us the photo she refused to accept that monster was harmless"

"Do you really think it is harmless?"

"Humans won the war, that means we are stronger. The monster is in more danger than us"

"If we find it what will we do?"

There was silence for a moment. "I don't know. Ask it its name? Find out if it can talk? I don't know"

"Do you think it'd eat some snacks? I have some"

"It isn't a zoo animal, Jung, stop it…"

The voices faded away. Asriel clung to the branches for several minutes more, waiting to see if they would return, but none of them came back. Slowly, he sat on the branch and got ready to descend, but before he could do it he heard steps on leaves. Asriel stared at the point where whoever was nearby would be at.

It was Patta and Frisk. Immediately smiling with relief Asriel called for them. "Up here!" Patta and Frisk looked upwards, seeing Asriel.

"Nice! That was a smart move, Asriel. Well done" Patta praised. Better to be hiding up on a tree, as far as they knew. Not many people would think there was a goat monster on the treetops "Can you get down by yourself? Last time you fell down"

"Uuuuh…I think I can…" Asriel said, not very sure. He really didn't want to fall again, he didn't know if, like last time, he would subconsciously activate magic to protect himself from serious injury.

"I'm ready to catch you" Patta said, getting closer to the trunk of the tree. Comforted by Patta's presence Asriel started to descend, digging his claws on the bark to increase stability. It took him a minute or two, but soon he was back on the ground. Frisk asked Asriel if he knew where the pursuers had gone, and after Asriel pointed in that direction Frisk looked at the sky.

"We should go in…that direction" they said after a moment "It doesn't lead to Mt. Ebott, but we should get out of the forest and go into the main road"

"How far is Mt. Ebott?" Patta inquired.

"It's a few miles away"

"…I suppose that is not so far. I just hope we'll get there before anyone else sees us. If people manage to reach Asriel I don't think it'd end well" the three started to walk in the direction Frisk had indicated, climbing over the roots and rocks they encountered in their path.

"Would it really be so bad? I heard what they were saying. I don't think they'd try to hurt me" Asriel said mutedly. Patta's expression showed skepticism, Frisk's showed their usual neutral expression.

"I would rather to avoid it. If people catch you they'll try to keep you around. Many will think of you as a novelty. With time the novelty would fade and…well I suppose you'd be treated as another child more, but you shouldn't be up here for that long"

Asriel couldn't refute that. To be honest he had been a bit annoyed when that Jung person had seemed to think about giving him snacks the way he was thinking to. While the perspective of being treated like just another person was attractive – and something he wished for all monsters – he was determined to return to the Underground that day.

Just in case he'd listen to Patta. Avoiding people, that was what they would do.

The three walked in silence, trying not to alert anyone who could be around. None of them had any idea how they could be so alert about monsters. Did the rumors suddenly turn widespread or what? They were supposed to be rumors! It was too late to wonder that, now that many people had seen Asriel it was confirmed there was a monster over the surface.

It really was a time for Asriel to return to the Underground. Things would spiral way out of control unless they acted quickly.

"Hey. Stop and be quiet" Asriel whispered, stopping suddenly. It seemed he was focusing, trying to listen. Patta did the same but they couldn't hear anything, just the wind among the leaves and the noise from birds.

"What's wrong, Azzy?" Frisk murmured after a moment.

"…they are nearby. We should hide, just in case"

'They' was all Patta needed to hear. Patta looked around, the closest hideout they could see was a group of thorny bushes. It was far from being pleasant. "Climb a tree. Frisk and I will hide over there" Patta instructed. There wasn't really time for discussion, although Frisk looked like they wanted to argue about the perspective of having to be among thorns for a while.

Once Asriel was safely hidden in the treetops Patta and Frisk crouched among the thorn bushes, waiting for the nearby people to go away. They weren't that lucky, though. The pursuers walked until they were in earshot.

"…called my cousin. Everyone back at home is really excited about all this"

"How not to be? This is a world changing event!"

"Do you think anyone outside the city will believe it? The monster will be like Bigfoot, only those who live here will believe it exists"

"There's a photo!"

"Photos can be faked. With some luck the media will get something like an interview with the monster"

"Yeah, I hope so! I saw a couple news vans going towards Mt. Ebott. They think the monster will go there"

Patta and Frisk exchanged a glance. Fantastic, simply fantastic. Things were looking worse by the minute. Asriel, up on the trees, was grimacing. He didn't know what a news van was, or what it would entail, but it couldn't be of help to keep himself away from everyone's prying eyes, that much he was sure.

The pursuers continued talking while walking away. "My cousin is on his way. Apparently he's even bringing a handmade poster, as if the monster was some celebrity descending from a plane. I don't know what's up with him"

"He's happy, that is it. Let him be, Jung"

"It's just too much for a mere monster"

"He says he wants to make the monster feel welcome. He even plans to follow the news vans and raise his poster high in the air for the monster to see it. Can you believe…" their voices faded away.

After making sure the pursuers wouldn't return Asriel, Frisk, and Patta left their hideouts, reuniting. Nobody was sure how they were supposed to feel about everything. Patta was mostly worried, knowing how bad the situation was, at least in the 'keep the monster hidden from the public eye' front. Asriel was conflicted between feeling fearful and ecstatic. It was great humanity's main attitude – for the moment – was curiosity, and he was also flattered there were people who were happy he was over the surface, but he was also very scared about being under the spotlight, of being the subject of scrutiny of hundreds, thousand, countless humans. And Frisk…they were filled mostly by indifference. Let people think whatever they want. It wouldn't matter in the long run.

* * *

 _…_ _sometimes I wonder if there were notable signs of what was going on with Frisk and I never noticed. I really, really hope there weren't._

* * *

"…we should get going" Asriel said. Frisk nodded and led Patta and Asriel in the direction they had indicated. The three continued their journey, each one immersed in their own thoughts, but at least their objective was the same: reach the mountain and finish the trip.

Thankfully they didn't encounter any more interruptions while they were in the forest. There wasn't anyone wandering around despite the risk the people who had seen them gone into the forest spreading the word. Frisk suggested they could be waiting further away, near Mt. Ebott, which was a reason why Frisk was leading them to the road. Once they got there it would be easier to plan and orientate themselves.

The place they arrived after half an hour wasn't a highway or a street, though. It seemed to be a baseball field, built a long time ago. There were small buildings surrounding a large diamond-shaped field, wooden bleachers lining the sides of the field. Large spotlights were positioned on the corners, and more important than anything else: it seemed there was no one around. "Let's rest for a bit" Patta proposed. The proposal was received with agreement, they had been trekking through the forest for a good while already "Do you recognize this place, Frisk?"

"…no, but the mountain is…that way?" Frisk hesitantly pointed in the distance. None of them could see the mountains due to the trees of the forest, and while there was a road diverging from the baseball field, it went into the forest and went to unknown places. In summary it seemed they had gotten lost…kind of. At least Frisk was sure they had gotten closer to the mountain.

"You are not sure where we are…this could have gone better but it is not all bad. We escaped from everyone"

While Frisk climbed the bleachers to try to see above the trees Patta proposed something to Asriel: to find something to disguise everyone. People knew how Patta looked, they knew Frisk was with the monster, and, well, Asriel would stand out if nothing was done. The problem was to actually find something. The raincoat was the most effective disguise and it had been lost, the rumors included the cowboy clothes Patta had in their knapsack, and everything else they had would leave in plain sight enough features to recognize Asriel as a monster. A new disguise was a good idea while Frisk orientated themselves.

Asriel liked the idea of having a new disguise, so with Patta he entered the small constructions near the baseball field. Those seemed to be storages, dressing rooms, a closed food stand. Everything was reasonably clean, so it was thought those places were used often enough. "We'll need something for the head, at least. I think no one paid much attention to your clothes, so as long as we keep your head covered maybe you'll be fine" Patta said.

Asriel looked at his hands and claws "Shouldn't we find gloves too?"

"If there are gloves for you to wear then sure, you can wear them. It's just a cautionary measure, in case we encounter someone" It was to be noted three people walking in the forest or along the highway with baseball uniforms wasn't exactly subtle, but it was either doing an effort to fool everyone or risk being sighted and pursued again.

Unfortunately, just because the baseball field was used from time to time, it didn't mean there were abundance of clothing or elements, at least in unlocked places. There were several locked doors, hallways and rooms where they wouldn't be able to enter. The most they could find were pads for the catcher player, a baseball bat and a helmet, found in one of the dressing rooms.

At least the fortune was kind enough to provide enough for one single person, more concretely, for one single child. It was all a tad too large for Asriel, but since there was nothing else they could use it was decided Asriel would wear it. "It's going to be hard to move with this and I hope it won't get too hot out there or this helmet will be like a furnace, but there aren't other options. Do you want it?" Patta asked, giving Asriel the final word. Asriel looked at the catcher uniform and made an expression of resignation.

"I will. How do I put it on?"

"Let me help you" it was not difficult but Asriel had absolutely no idea about how to put it on. Sports in the Underground weren't exactly common, mostly due to lack of space for places like fields. There were monsters who practiced sports, but the number was extremely low.

The chest protector was awkward and the shin guards restrained Asriel's leg movements, but he saw it as a necessary evil. The helmet was a different matter, though, he wished he could forgo it but Patta insisted there was no sense on wearing the pads if the helmet was left aside.

 **Catcher Uniform +16 DEF -SPD**

 _Pads and helmet, made for protection. It's not meant to be very mobile._

After Asriel put the helmet on Patta stared at the sturdy metallic portion. "How does it feel?"

"It feels like someone is pressing my face against a grill" Asriel said, muffled. It wasn't much of an exaggeration; his snout was pressed against the metallic bars. It even made it a tad hard to breathe. Patta lifted the bars enough for Asriel to not to be so uncomfortable. They were still dealing with that when Frisk ran into the building, alarmed.

"Someone is coming!" they notified, immediately looking outside towards the field. There really was a person coming, looking around and possibly trying to find any signs someone had been there. None of them was able to distinguish who it was or how they looked like, but it was to be expected being sighted wouldn't be a favorable action.

"Good thing we found this stuff just in time. Let's stay here until they leave"

"Uh, I don't think they're going to leave, Patta" Asriel peered through the window too "They are sitting on that long plank staircase"

"The bleachers. Step aside, let me see" The children walked away, letting Patta take their spot. That person out there really knew what they were doing. They sat on a place that allowed them to have a clear view of the whole field, and it did seem they weren't going to move for a while. It was going to be very unlikely anyone could exit the door without being seen "There's no use. We'll have to hope for the best"

"Can't we stay here for a little longer?" Asriel gripped the cushioned materials over his chest.

"I don't think we can, not if we want to get to Mt. Ebott before it gets too crowded for us to go onto the mountain unseen. Let's try to act as natural as possible and hope for the best" Patta said gravely. There was not much to do other than put on the hat Celia had gifted to Asriel and hope it covered enough of Patta's head to not to be recognizable. Frisk was also provided with different clothes than their usual sweater and pants, just in case anyone recognized Frisk's usual clothes.

Five minutes after the person on the bleachers was sighted, the three left the building and walked with a brisk pace towards the other end of the baseball field, towards the forest and following Frisk's indications. A child with a suit, another one with a helmet and part of a catcher uniform, and an adult with a knit hat, a suit and a scarf almost trailing on the ground, carrying a baseball bat as if they expected to whack moles popping from the ground.

 **Baseball Bat +50 ATK**

 _A real weapon. Generally recommended to not to use it at all._

Nobody was going to be fooled by any of that, the three looked way out of place to be taken seriously. The person on the bleachers sighed, feeling pity for them. There was an attempt from those three to fool people, it's just that it was a very lousy attempt. He took a baseball bat he had kept nearby and descended the bleachers.

"Yo, guys. This is kind of stupid, you know?" Cohen said, stepping towards them. Patta, Asriel and Frisk recognized him immediately. The teenager held his baseball bat in his hands, in an unclear attempt to intimidate them. It seemed there was a great deal of doubt and hesitation in him, like he wasn't sure what he was doing. It wasn't surprising at all; Cohen was just a teenager trying to deal with plans and emotions much bigger than himself. It was to be expected he'd be clueless about what he should do.

That didn't stop him from standing right in front of Asriel and his companions, or from taking a deep breath and clutch the baseball bat as if his life depended from it. Cohen gathered all his pride, suppressed any doubts and steeled his willpower for whatever could happen now. It didn't mean he couldn't be convinced to leave them alone, but there was going to be resistance.

Cohen smiled ruefully. "Youth Troop, Fifth Division. Always walking forward.

The future awaits"


	28. The Wrath of the Youthful

Patta and Cohen stared at each other, baseball bats at the ready. They were each expecting the other one to make the first move. Neither of them really wanted to hurt the other, not if the other person got out of the way. They both unknowingly had the same thoughts.

However, Patta had two children with them, so their first action was obvious. "Asriel, Frisk, step back" they ordered, not looking away from Cohen. Asriel and Frisk, looking back between Patta and Cohen, obeyed and stepped several feet back. Patta positioned themselves in front of the children, trying to block them from Cohen's view.

Asriel was pretty nervous. He didn't need to know anything about human sports to know those baseball bats could be quite effective weapons, if this turned into a physical confrontation chances were someone would get hurt. He really hoped Patta would be able to deal with it.

"Kid…put that away. I don't know if you have noticed, but it almost seems like you're threatening us with it" Patta said neutrally. They wanted to give Cohen the benefit of doubt, to believe Cohen wasn't trying to intimidate them or wasn't about to attach them with a weapon. The sooner and calmer this ended the better. Unfortunately, it seemed Cohen wasn't doing that by accident. He wasn't experienced at all, doing mistakes such as not looking at his opponent and showing clear signs of hesitation.

"I just want to talk!" Cohen claimed, leaning on the baseball bat without really putting it away "That is all I'm here for, to talk!"

"…with who?" As if Cohen had gotten here to cross words with Patta. They were sure of that. As expected, Cohen tried to look at Asriel.

"With, uh, the monster. That is all I want to do, talk to him for a moment. Please, let me talk to him"

Patta stared at Cohen for a moment before loudly calling for Frisk to ask Asriel and then tell them. They really weren't going to look away. Frisk asked Asriel if he wanted to talk to Cohen. "Yes" the monster answered immediately "I'll talk with him". Frisk told that to Patta, who frowned. If Asriel wanted it then…may as well allow it.

"Okay, with one condition: you'll stay there, Asriel stays here. Say it".

Asriel stepped to Patta's side, making sure to be far enough in case Cohen lost his mind and tried to attack anyone. The teenager looked at Asriel for a moment. He had gathered his resolve already. Although he didn't stammer or trip with his own words the way his voice trembled showed how nervous he was. "I want to talk to him in private. There's something I want to ask him"

"No!" Patta shouted "You'll say what you want _, here and now_. We have to get going!"

"Howdy!" Asriel greeted with his usual friendly demeanor. Cohen took a deep breath and grasped the baseball bat tighter. It wasn't like he had any choice. Either he accepted Patta's condition or he'd lose his only chance to convince Asriel to stay. Besides it also meant he wouldn't have to use the baseball bat, and that was a relief. Cohen nodded. He took a good look at Asriel.

The monster was nothing like he had expected. The day before, when he and his friends had tried to catch the monster in the park at the center of the city, he had known it was likely to be a child, but Asriel didn't look at all like he thought it would. The weird artist's rendition he had seen in the social network had been what he expected, but instead Asriel only had a faint resemblance to it.

Then just eleven hours earlier he had seen Selby's photo. Asriel had looked so pitiable, so defenseless Cohen had felt some remorse, but thought Asriel would be easy to convince. How hard could it be? And now he was meeting Asriel in person, at last.

Asriel wasn't at all a pitiable or a defenseless kid. Sure, he looked harmless and all, but he wasn't cowering behind Patta or about to cry like Cohen had thought the monster would be. There was a quiet determined fire in Asriel's eyes, he wasn't afraid of anything…or if he was then he was hiding it really well. This was a kid who was willing to look directly at the obstacles and try to overcome them. How was Cohen supposed to convince a child like this one?

Cohen was going to try, either way. "Yo, what is your name, buddy?"

"I'm Asriel" Asriel actually smiled. Cohen nodded, feeling a bit more at ease "Did you want to talk to me?"

"Uh, yes…buddy, do you like this world up here? The sky, the air, everything?" Cohen asked, gesturing around himself. That seemed like the best bet: show Asriel what he was going to be missing if he returned to the Underground. Asriel did look around. He seemed wistful.

"I really like it. It is not how I thought it would be, but…I'm happy I was here even if it was for a short while" That was exactly what Cohen hoped to hear. Cohen grinned, opening his arms wide.

"Then why not to stay for some time? You can stay with your friends, have fun, meet so many humans you won't be able to remember all of them, there is a whole world of possibilities up here. It doesn't have to be forever, just for a little longer!"

Asriel shook his head. "I'd love to, but I must return"

There it was. The rejection Cohen had steeled himself for. Cohen didn't really know how to argue about this, he had thought it would be much easier than this. Patta hadn't even said a word, so maybe they hadn't really told Asriel anything…

…or did they? It could have happened before. "Yo, buddy, can I ask why do you want to return to that huge cave?"

"I don't belong here, not alone. I should be with my parents and with my friends. I have friends up here too, but I don't think I could be happy being the only monster over the surface" That sounded like a truly honest answer. Cohen felt doubts for the first time, but he also felt he couldn't take the chance of just letting Asriel go, not after everything Cohen had lost. To some people it wouldn't seem like much. A few friends, respect in a group...some wouldn't think it was a loss that would warrant pursuing a goal with the intensity Cohen did.

But to Cohen that had been an integral part of his world. This wasn't a matter of a better future; he wasn't thinking about humanity anymore. All Cohen cared about was about what he had lost because of his will to change the future through monsterkind's existence. He really didn't want to accept those losses…

…and for that reason he felt the frustration starting to rise in him. "Who told you something like that? Who said you wouldn't be happy?"

"Nobody, that is what I feel" Asriel seemed pretty sure about that. Cohen gripped the baseball bat, lifting it to his chest.

"Is that so? Are you completely sure a certain someone hasn't tried to influence you in any way?" Cohen glared at Patta. That was enough for the adult, they weren't going to let such insinuations go unanswered.

"What are you trying to hint, Cohen?" Patta asked coldly.

"I'm saying you may have told Asriel a few tiny lies. About how he wouldn't be happy, or maybe about how he should live in the Underground for the rest of his life, or perhaps about-"

"Enough! I haven't said any of that, and even if I did it'd be my right to give Asriel advice about what to do. This is what he should be doing, returning to the Underground"

"Is that what he wants?!" Cohen briefly pointed at Patta with the baseball bat "Have you even thought of asking him?"

"Of course I have! He wants to return to the Underground! He has said it himself!"

"Uh, Patta, I think I should-" Asriel started to say but both Cohen and Patta ignored him, mostly. The only response he received was a gesture to be silent. Asriel, taken aback, frowned and stepped back. Frisk tried to get their attention too, but all Patta was paying attention to was Cohen.

"Ooooh, really? And when did you ask him that, _before_ or _after_ you convinced him to get back under the mountain?" Cohen asked with a devious smile. Patta really didn't like it.

"Who cares?! Now get out of our way, we'll get going now" Patta said and advanced a couple steps.

* * *

 _…I didn't handle it very well, did I? It's somewhat sad Asriel was better at dealing with these situations than I was._

* * *

"No, you can't go yet! I'm not done talking to the mons-"

"Watch us" Patta said bluntly, grabbing the wrist of the closest child and pulling from it. It was Frisk's wrist, Frisk let themselves be dragged, and Asriel followed them. The three of them barely got five feet away before Cohen stood in the way, raising the baseball bat in what clearly was a position ready to attack.

"I insist: let me talk to him" Cohen said, a warning in his voice. Patta was starting to get greatly annoyed with what they perceived as hubris, as if Cohen was entitled to talk with Asriel even after what Patta took as a personal attack.

"You lost your chance. We are leaving"

That was all Patta managed to say before Cohen swung the bat. Patta, who had noticed Cohen's position to attack, let go of Frisk's wrist and managed to parry with their own baseball bat, the aluminum from both bats clashing with a loud noise. Cohen was strong, Patta felt the unpleasant sensation of the vibrations from the impact tingling on their arms.

Frisk and Asriel were startled by the sudden attack. Frisk was the first to react, immediately pulling Asriel further away to avoid getting hit by a stray attack if anyone started to swing the baseball bat wildly. Patta wanted to tell them to get away, wait on the bleachers, but they had to focus completely on Cohen, as they were trying again to deliver a blow onto Patta's side.

Cohen's speed was notable, and soon Patta started to have a harder time parrying the attempts. "No chance, eh? Who do you think you are?! I'll show you!" he was shouting, each sentence before swinging the bat again. Patta didn't have time to reply to any of that.

It was soon starting to be clear to Patta they wouldn't be able to stop the blows for much longer. Cohen was in a frenzy, trying to get Patta away, and the adult's refusal to yield was making him angrier and angrier. Getting hit by any of those hits would be a painful experience, yet thankfully Cohen was mostly aiming to the sides of the body and thighs. Even if a hit connected at least it had a slight chance of not giving immediate major damage. There weren't going to be broken bones, but there was enough danger for any impact to be of importance.

"Ack!" Patta's arm bent at an uncomfortable angle after they positioned themselves incorrectly to stop a blow, and their own baseball bat was left aside for a moment. They wouldn't have enough time to stop the next blow. It was over, all Patta hoped was that Cohen would calm down once he saw Patta couldn't defend themselves for a moment, or if that didn't happen, then that Cohen would be satisfied with hitting them only once.

"No!" Cohen and Patta heard Asriel shout. Cohen's swing slowed down a bit. It seemed he was going to stop, but Asriel wasn't going to let that up to fate. Managing to get away from Frisk, Asriel bolted forward, his claws wrapped in fire, and quickly aimed. A short row of embers flew through the air, impulse by Asriel's own speed and the urgency he felt, and hit the target.

The baseball bat Cohen had was engulfed in fire immediately. It was just lukewarm, but Cohen didn't notice it, instead freaking out because the object he had in his hands had suddenly caught fire. With a shout of alarm, Cohen threw the bat towards the bleachers, the magic fire extinguishing in the air. The baseball bat, intact, fell quite far away, too far for Cohen to even attempt to recover it.

Patta, Asriel and Frisk retreated quickly, trying to get some distance between the teenager and the rest. "Are you okay?" Asriel asked to Patta, who had been caught off-guard too by Asriel's intervention. The monster child was very worried, getting close to Patta and trying to see if he had defended him too late. It seemed Patta had managed to hold very well the onslaught of attacks Cohen did, but the way they rubbed their arms showed they were pretty sore.

"I'm fine…"

"That was real fire! I can't believe it!" Cohen was freaking out from what seemed to him like an attempt to incinerate his hands. He was staring at his gloved hands, examining them to see if he was burned. Once he saw he had no wound at all he clenched his fists, glaring at Asriel "What was that?"

"Stop attacking them!" Asriel demanded, ready to try to stop Cohen with magic if it was needed. The teenager took a few deep breaths while everyone looked at him, paying close attention to all of his movements. Cohen slowly stepped forward, towards Patta.

"Yo, look, I don't want to do this any further, but I know it. This is your fault. You and Frisk, you two have convinced the monster to leave. I don't know what you have told him, but I demand to be listened. Just one talk, let me talk to him in private, away of you two. That is all I want"

Asriel tried to get in the way but Patta stopped him. They could see where this was going. Cohen wasn't willing to budge, Patta wasn't willing to budge either…may as well get done with it. "Asriel, you and Frisk must step aside. I'll block the way"

"Block the way?" Frisk frowned. It didn't sound like Patta had much of a plan.

"Cohen is furious. If he talks to any of you in that state I don't think it'll end well. Once he is too tired to continue we'll see what we'll do"

"I don't know if he'll get tired, Patta…but I trust you" Frisk accepted, shaking their head. Asriel opened his mouth to say something like he wouldn't leave because he would try to stop Cohen too, but Frisk started pulling him away. Cohen was getting a lot closer now, there was no time for arguing. They hoped Patta knew what they were doing.

Without turning around to see if the children had obeyed Patta prepared themselves. "You won't get through me. Release all that pent-up anger, come on. I'll indulge you"

"Are you patronizing me?!" Cohen raised his fists.

"…maybe I am. I know you are not a bad person, Cohen, but you'll do something you'll regret if I let you pass. Try to defeat me. I dare you"

Cohen's pupils contracted, finally getting close enough to fight. "Alright, I accept! I'll make you beg for mercy!" he screamed, jumping forward. Without warning, the environment got darker, like Patta expected, but unlike the other two times Patta had experienced the FIGHT situations it seemed things weren't going to start with a standstill situation.

The teenager started punching, showing proficient use of both arms. There was no time to show off, Cohen knew he should make a hit, every punch was aimed to make contact with his foe. Patta expected an attack, but they hadn't expected Cohen to be so nimble. They could feel wind from Cohen's missed punches, a couple passing very close to their face. Once Cohen was done with his initial flurry of attacks he jumped back, raising his fists.

 ***Cohen attacks!**

"Do your move! I'm waiting!" he shouted. Patta still had their baseball bat, a weapon that would be likely to put an end to the FIGHT or at least weaken Cohen considerably.

It was not a pleasant thought. Patta raised the bat as a defense mechanism, though, as if they could use it to counter Cohen's punches. They decided they needed a bit more of time to consider their options

 **Act - CHECK**

 *** COHEN 22 ATK 17 DEF**

 *** What does it mean to be brave?**

Cohen wasn't going to stand around forever while Patta mulled what to do. Seeing Patta wasn't moving to attack, Cohen interpreted Patta's stance as a defensive one, and decided to attack. Cohen reared back his arm, ready to deliver a strong punch, and aimed for Patta's gut. It wasn't going to be a difficult attack to dodge. Better that than attempting to block it with the baseball bat.

Patta moved to the side, but also forgot an important part of a FIGHT, especially when it was about fighting humans: the physical attacks weren't the only thing to watch out. SOULs fuel magic attacks, as if Cohen had brandished his emotions and used them to try to hit Patta.

It was the first time Patta's SOUL had endured a hit. They felt their body tense and tingle painfully, like an electrical current had suddenly passed through it. Not understanding very well how that was possible, Patta used the baseball bat to gently yet firmly move Cohen's arm upwards and away, gaining back some space. "Trying to defend yourself? Is that how you really think you can win against me?" Cohen asked, a tad confused.

"I suppose so"

"That is not going to work. Come on, fight back!" he demanded, raising his fists again.

 **Act - Defend**

 *** You raise your weapon and get ready.**

 *** Your DEF increased!**

Cohen scowls. "You really don't know when to attack…" he said before attacking again.

IMAGE SLAP D0NE

Opening his palms Cohen tried to push Patta or grasp the baseball bat to disarm them, but Patta avoided each attempt. With each attempt Cohen got more and more frustrated, starting to sweat. He grasped his bandanna for a moment, calming down enough to know when to retreat. He glared at Patta. "What is wrong with you? Can't you see I won't stop until you fight? I won't stop!"

"You'll get tired at some point" Patta replied, bit Cohen didn't say anything.

 **Act - Talk**

 *** You open your mouth but there is nothing to be said.**

Patta doesn't even manage to get a single word out before Cohen attacks again.

Cohen punched only once, and the magic from his SOUL created cracks that spread all around Patta's SOUL, trying to trap it in a dead end and attempting to skewer it. It was too fast to completely avoid, and soon Patta's SOUL was surrounded by jagged white lines. The magic managed to get to Patta's SOUL once, they doubled over in pain for a moment, much to Cohen's confusion. "I didn't even touch you, yo"

"I know" Cohen wouldn't understand what Patta was seeing or feeling. He couldn't see the SOULs, or the magic attacks he was producing. Patta themselves didn't understand very well either, why they had started to be able to see it. They supposed it had something to do with Asriel and his monster SOUL. It wasn't like it mattered to them very much.

Talking didn't work, deciding to defend didn't work either, and Cohen didn't show signs of getting tired. Was his rage really so strong?

 **Mercy - Spare**

"Cohen, enough. Let's stop" Patta asked, but Cohen rolled his eyes.

"You asked for a fight. You are getting a fight. Why aren't you fighting? This is too easy of a win for me!"

"You know if I do something it won't be good for you, right? Don't be stubborn, let's stop" Patta held a weapon in their hands, of course it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for Cohen if they decided to use it.

The teenager wasn't going to give up, and Patta knew there wasn't infinite time. They had really underestimated Cohen's energy and drive to get to Asriel. This was going to take too long if Patta let Cohen get tired.

…this wasn't going to be fun. Maybe Cohen noticed Patta was having doubts about continuing; he immediately started another barrage of punches, which only ended when Patta managed to block a couple with the bat. This was going nowhere and Patta knew it.

So they grasped the baseball bat, took a deep breath and did it.

It was matter of seconds. Patta quickly measured their own strength and carefully rationed it. Their objective was not to hurt; they didn't want to cause Cohen any lasting pain. What they wanted was to dissuade him from continuing the pain, see that, if Patta so willed it, Cohen would not get away unscathed. It was not a pretty thing to have to do, but Patta had driven themselves into a corner like that.

The impact was against Cohen's left shoulder. The teenager was immediately knocked aside, tripping and falling onto the ground on his other arm. He gave a shout of pain, grasped his left shoulder and tried to stand up. It wasn't so easy when both arms were occupied. Patta stood there, unsure, but it seemed Cohen was fine. It was just that the pain was distracting him. "Come on, Cohen. Stand up"

Cohen didn't reply to that, but he did try to stand up. Something had changed. Patta, not dropping the baseball bat but holding it in a way that practically leaves them defenseless, approached the teenager. Patta extended their hand, offering to help Cohen.

The teenager stared at it for a moment before sighing and grabbing it. Patta pulled carefully, in case the blow with the bat really hurt Cohen more than Patta intended. Cohen was soon standing up, staring at the floor. Their energy to fight really was gone, he seemed to have calmed down. "So now what?" Patta asked. Cohen's lips turned into a thin line for a moment.

"…sorry. I don't know what…I think I lost my mind for a second"

"You weren't exactly a friendly person a minute ago, yeah"

"Wow, I must look like a real jackass right now" Cohen smiled ruefully, finally daring to look at Patta.

"Not more than me, that is for sure. Come on, let's sit" Time? Yes, surely there wasn't much time, but Patta wanted to take the time to check on Cohen. The teenager let himself be led to the bleachers, sitting down among them. Frisk and Asriel, who had been watching from some distance away, started to approach. Patta waved at them, indicating it was okay to come.

"…I don't think I ever asked your name, yo" Cohen said to the adult, finally letting go his shoulder. Patta looked at Cohen for a moment.

"My name is Patta. It's, uh, nice to meet you, I suppose" it would be great if it hadn't been at such unusual circumstances.

"I don't think you'll let me talk to Asriel now, will you?"

"…if you behave I think it'll be okay. Just refrain from accusing anyone for no reason and please, respect his decisions. Asriel knows what he is doing, and all Frisk and I are doing is help him return to his home. Remember that"

Cohen nodded. It wasn't like he was in any condition to make any demands. Patta's blow with the baseball bat, albeit pretty uncalled for in the general situation, had really served to calm Cohen down enough to see he had started to be stupidly unreasonable. He regretted it. For a moment Cohen thought about running away, but Patta held him down. Maybe it was just a precaution to keep him from attacking them again.

Asriel looked at Cohen with apprehension. Frisk approached, going towards Cohen with cold indifference. Their usual neutrality was starting to turn into something unfamiliar, Patta was starting to notice it. "Frisk, are you okay?" The strange indifference changed back into the neutrality Patta was used to. They nodded. "…okay…" Patta focused back onto Cohen "So, go ahead, ask Asriel what you want"

Cohen nodded again. He gestured Asriel to approach. The monster seemed to have doubts, but after some encouragement from Patta, he got to the bleachers. He sat to the side of Patta, practically leaning against the adult. Patta, supposing Asriel was looking for reassurance, put their arm around his shoulders. "Asriel, if you don't want to talk to him then we can leave now. We still need to get to the mountain" Asriel didn't move, though.

"But you said I could talk to him!" Cohen protested.

"Tell him what you want"

"…buddy, do you think there could ever be a chance for you to return to the surface?" Cohen asked. Asriel lied still, leaning against Patta. Was he scared of Cohen? Concerned about Patta? When Patta thought Asriel wasn't going to say anything else he finally replied.

"…I think I will"

"Is that why you are so willing to go to the Underground? Because you think someday you'll be back up here?"

Asriel hadn't really thought about it like that. He did believe one day monstekind would return to the surface, but he hadn't thought too much about his reasons to return to the Underground. Were reasons really needed? How was he supposed to explain it was what felt right, to be back with his family and the people he'd have to rule over someday? "Yes, that is right" Asriel said calmly.

Cohen was in silence for a moment before sighing loudly. He sounded pretty tired. "It must be nice to have something like that to keep you going" Asriel separated himself from Patta, peering at Cohen.

"Did something happen to you?"

"Me? Uuuuh…" Cohen looked away. He knew by now asking Asriel to reconsider his decisions was useless. The monster wasn't willing to do that. Seeing he had reached the end of his efforts, he decided to just get done with this all. There was nothing else to do "Not really. I'm just fighting the consequences of my decisions. That is all"

"What do you mean?"

"When I heard for the first time a monster was up here in the surface I felt…hopeful. I felt this could be a chance to bring change to the world, to our futures. I told my friends to help me, and they did! But then…somehow things started to go wrong"

Patta supposed it had started to go wrong when Mahiru got so hurt she had to go to the hospital, just in case she had suffered a lot of damage. It was forgivable. Nobody expected Patta to know everything. Cohen shook his head. "I didn't notice at the time I had become too driven, somehow. When I came back to my senses I found out my three friends were upset with me. Mahiru and Cam got hurt, and Selby refused to listen to me. To make it even worse, they spread the word around the Youth Troop. Everyone knew. I don't dare to take a look at what they must be saying about me"

"…you could try to make amends with them" Patta said. Cohen raised his head, frowning.

"I tried! Selby accepted my apologies, but last night I ruined it again. I found that photo he had taken, and I practically flipped out, yo. I shouted at him, and Selby was once again pissed off at me. I was so stupid!" Cohen tensed, wanting to run away, but somehow he managed to be calm enough to stay "I don't know what to do. If the monster went away, then that would mean I ruined everything for nothing. All the effort I made, everything I said and did, it wouldn't matter anymore. All I would have left was…nothing. I'd have nothing"

Patta closed their eyes. There was something very familiar about Cohen, and that bothered Patta greatly. It was like looking at themselves from nine years ago. Patta had lost different things: their family's support, mostly, but they also had support the will to continue, springing from their failure at a point where they thought their will to follow their dream to study biology was what defined their whole being.

Cohen had lost his friends and his social position among the people of his age, but his sentiments were very similar to Patta's. Patta didn't want Cohen to lock himself into the same cycle of self-loathing and hopelessness Patta had been during nine years. "Cohen, how old are you?"

"Uh?" Cohen was surprised by the sudden change of topic "Sixteen. Why?"

"You remind me a lot of myself. I was just one year older than you when I made a mistake that led to the loss of everything I had. At the time I felt just like you, and, well, I drifted through life without a care. Let me tell you what I wish I had been told so long ago" Patta took a deep breath and recalled these four days and everything they had learned, everything they had thought and decided to change:

"You lost everything. Maybe that is true, maybe it isn't, but it doesn't mean it is all over. Times won't be easy for you, but don't lose hope. Find something new, something to fill your days and maybe replace what you lost. There are so many possibilities out there, and you can reach and try to grasp them! What matters is to not to let yourself be chained by your regret.

Please, live and don't lose hope. That is what you should do"

"Patta…" Asriel touched Patta, but the adult didn't turn to look at them. Still, Asriel was somewhat happy to see the situation was resolving itself in a way that didn't involve anyone beating up anybody. It could have overall gone better, but it wasn't all so bad now.

Frisk was affected by Patta's short speech, though. They were staring at the ground, thoughtful. While Cohen and Patta talked a while longer, Frisk got closer to Asriel, and talked low enough for Patta to not to hear. "Azzy…do you think maybe I'm not doing the right thing by…going to the Underground?"

"What do you mean?" Asriel whispered back.

"I'm running away because I lost a big part of my life. It's like what happened to Patta and Cohen. Azzy, tell me, what would you do?"

Asriel glanced at Patta. It wasn't easy for a child to know what to do in a situation like this. A child shouldn't have to take such decisions, but here they were, talking about their futures, about Frisk's seemingly hopeless situation, the one they wanted to run away from. "…I don't know. Ask Patta"

"What for? They'll say the same thing they just told him"

"It's worth a try. Golly, Frisk, I want you to come with me, I really do, but if you're not sure then it'd be for the best for you to stay on the surface" Let Frisk go. Asriel was willing to do that, if that is what Frisk wanted. Frisk seemed to be about to approach Patta and voice their conflict, but changed their mind at the last second, shaking their head with anguish.

"No! I-I see what I'm doing. I'll find something new. You are what is new, Azzy. Celia will be gone; I can find something new in the Underground. Do you understand?"

"I don't" That was the truth, Asriel didn't understand what Frisk was saying "Are you coming or not?"

"I'll go with you. It is what I want to do"

"Then it's settled. I hope you are sure about this"

"I am. I won't change my mind. I decided to leave this city and go into the Underground" Frisk bottled all the doubts about their recent escapist behaviors and acquired an iron will to follow their decision to the end. Determination, so to say. In the process, the fate that would await the three of them at Mt. Ebott was sealed.

It had been the last chance, and now it was gone.

Once Patta was done encouraging Cohen to not to metaphorically lie down and let life go on without him, the teenager thanked Patta, stood up from the bleachers and stretched. "Yo! Didn't you guys have something to do?"

"Mt. Ebott is not too far from here" Frisk confirmed, having already checked by standing on the very top of the bleachers "There's a lot of people around"

"Do you think we'll be able to get there without being seen, Frisk?"

Frisk shrugged "I don't know"

"I can help" Cohen said. He took out his cellphone, opening his social network account "People really like to write every detail of their lives when it's about something exciting. I could guide you guys to the mountain without being seen by anyone"

"…really?" Patta didn't trust Cohen immediately, not after the way he had behaved. Still, it wasn't like they had many other options. Either they risked being seen by a random passerby, or they trusted Cohen and hoped he wouldn't lead them onto the waiting masses.

It was not a good situation and Patta hated it. "Fine. Lead the way, Cohen"

"Give me a moment" Cohen requested. While Cohen checked the best routes to take, Patta made sure Asriel and Frisk were ready to continue. The catcher stuff wasn't the best for a trek through the forest and the roads, so Asriel took off the pads and the helmet. Just in case that stuff was stored in the knapsack, if they ever needed that stuff at least Asriel would have a mediocre costume at the ready. "Isn't this stealing?" Frisk asked.

"In our way back we'll return here to leave this stuff where I found it. Until then I doubt anyone will miss it" Patta replied. Asriel seemed doubtful this was the best thing to do, but he didn't voice his doubts. There wasn't really time for that.

"Okay, we're done" Cohen said "I think I have a path that will be useful. Don't get too far from me, and it all be okay, got it?" Nobody had anything to say to that, other than an approval for the plan "Then come on! Follow me!" the teenager put his cellphone away and walked towards the forest, in the overall direction Frisk had pointed.

Asriel was still pretty nervous about the possibility people would corner him, harmless intentions or not. There wasn't much he would be able to do, other than hope for the best.


	29. OrangeSOUL-TheBroadcastTheyWereHopingFor

It turned out trusting Cohen to help them move was the right choice. The teenager was quite attentive now that he was willing to help reach Mt. Ebott, always keeping an eye on his cellphone and thinking quickly. Many times Cohen stopped them, saying 'wait, something changed!' and guiding the group to another direction. Patta had the feeling they were going in circles in middle of the forest, but it wasn't like they had any right to complain. So far Cohen had managed to keep them away of people, after all.

Patta and Frisk had roles in the plan, too. It was always possible Cohen could fail at some point, so the other two humans in the group were assigned to keep an eye on the surroundings, ready to alert everyone at the first sign of someone approaching. Patta had jumped the gun once, telling everyone to duck among the trees and stay still, but it had been just a deer, not a couple people trying to find Asriel. At least Asriel and Frisk had the experience of seeing a deer in person, so it wasn't all so bad.

"I'm sure I have seen a monster that looks like a deer" Asriel commented while the deer trotted away.

"Is there anything the Underground doesn't have?" Cohen asked, his eyes were shining with curiosity. Asriel smiled, shrugging.

"I don't know. Monsters come in many shapes and forms"

Asriel had warmed up to Cohen pretty quickly, too, choosing to walk near the teenager while Frisk and Patta stayed behind. Maybe the monster felt bad for Cohen, as they spent quite some time talking to Cohen about the Underground. Asriel told Cohen about the monsters he knew, about how everyone lived, the different stories he knew. Cohen listened everything with enthusiasm, making questions and commenting every once in a while. Although the teenager almost never looked up from his cell phone, his expression showed he was very happy to spend even a short time with Asriel as a friend.

At one point, while the group was resting, Cohen got everyone's attention. "Yo, we're running out of time. There are a lot of media people around Mt. Ebott right now"

"Damn it" Patta muttered "Are we going to be able to get there without being seen?"

"If we run maybe you and Asriel will be able to get on the mountain before the media catches you. The mountain is surrounded by a chain-link fence. I don't think it's electrified or anything like that. How good are you three climbing fences?"

"We're experts!" Asriel claimed immediately. Frisk raised their eyebrows at Asriel's exaggerated answer, while Patta said something along the lines of 'We have done that only once, that barely makes us experts'.

"Then you'll be okay. It is a tall fence but it should be no problem" At least the city was doing an effort to stop people from going onto the mountain, but it could always be better. Asriel hoped it was going to be as easy as Cohen said. Once everyone was rested enough they continued the trek towards Mt. Ebott, this time moving quicker than before.

* * *

 _Cohen did remind me of myself. Bravery and determination aren't that different, both are based on the same feelings. The difference is that they focus those feelings in different ways. Bravery is more to not to falter in the face of obstacles. Cohen has that in spades, most of the time. I admit I feel jealous about that._

 _But being brave doesn't matter much if it isn't tempered by prudence. Does that sound good? It's something I have scribbled over and over in the air with my remains. It's funny how many banal philosophical-sounding sentences and questions you can make when you have free time._

 _Unfortunately, Cohen didn't know a thing about prudence when he was a kid. He must be the one who lasted the least with Toriel, barely a whole day. He practically ran through the ruins, not letting something like falling into a mountain stop him. Of course, he had to rest, but he was a pretty hotheaded kid. "Thank you for everything, but I have to go. I have to return home!" he had proclaimed to Toriel with boundless panache. Cohen was the first human child Toriel tried to take care of since her arrived to the ruins, so it wasn't as difficult for her to let him go as it was for the rest._

 _It doesn't mean she didn't worry about him a lot, though. She gave Cohen everything she thought he could need. Food, explanations of every area in the Underground, and the way to get out of the Underground. Toriel didn't tell him what was needed to leave the Underground, though. If she had done it, I'm not sure how Cohen would have reacted. He was an energetic and fearless kid, but he was also nice. He wouldn't have killed Asgore._

 _…he didn't get there, of course._

 _Cohen jumped straight into the Snowdin forests, not minding the cold and the snow. He encountered monsters, but he ignored most of them. "Get out of my way! I'm in a hurry!" he told everyone he saw before running towards New Home. He didn't engage in FIGHTs; he didn't steer away from his objective…not even with the Royal Guard tried to stop him he raised a fist against anyone._

 _I think that was what doomed him, how he didn't stop to rest, how he never stopped moving, always running and never taking a moment to breathe and gather energy. I don't know if it is that Cohen needed to do something back in his home, or if he was unnerved by monsters – Ciruel seems to have been who endeared Cohen to the concept of monsterkind – but that kid was in a huge hurry to return to the surface. There must be a saying for that, but I'm not the type to use sayings._

 _The point is that Cohen…died from exhaustion. He tired himself out without not even reaching that painted bridge near Snowdin. Breathing harshly, Cohen leaned against trees and tried to rest. For one reason or another, he fainted, and as anyone can suppose, fainting in cold weather and on snow is not good._

 _He was found by a resident from Snowdin. Asgore was notified about the body, the SOUL was picked, and Cohen's bandanna and gloves were taken away. I suppose the monster who found him took those as a memento of the only human they would ever see in their lives._

 _Compared to the rest it could be said Cohen had the least traumatic death. It doesn't make it any better, though. Why does it have to be so unfair? Can't there be a human besides Frisk who falls down and doesn't either die or exterminate monsterkind? If anyone who isn't one of the six human SOULs falls into the Underground the monsters die. Imagine the details of that. But the six human SOULs seems to be doomed to die, no matter what. Is there something I'm not seeing, something that is spurring them to die or what?_

 _I just don't get it! What is wrong with this world?!_

 _…_

 _…I'm so tired…_

* * *

"Before I forget, there's something I want to give you, Patta" Cohen said abruptly, approaching the adult with something in his hand. He stared at that object for a moment, he looked calm but there was an underlying sadness that made Patta a bit uneasy.

"What is it?" they asked. Cohen looked at the ground for a moment before finally meeting Patta's eyes.

"I want to give this to you. It isn't really of any use to me anymore, and frankly I don't want to see it again. Bad memories…so please, have it" Cohen showed what was in his hand. It was his Youth Troop badge.

"Uh…if you are sure then okay. I'll take it" It was of no use at all, but it was obvious to Patta it wasn't easy for Cohen to give it away. It had been a big part of his life until recently, and although he had ruined it at least Cohen had the bravery to try to continue onwards.

 **Youth Troop Badge +1 DEF**

 _A tin badge. A reminder to not to let yourself be trapped by your regret._

"And thank you for what you told me a while ago! I'm ready for whatever happens now. I plan to return, try to talk again with my friends and…well, if they don't want me back, yo, that is okay. It won't be the end of the world for me"

"I should get in contact with my family again" Patta mused "It has been so long since the last time I talked to my parents I don't even remember their voices"

"That is rough" Cohen said awkwardly. He sympathized with Patta but didn't know how to say it very well so instead he slapped Patta's back to express his support. If Cohen had the courage to continue on and try to make amends why can't Patta do the same? It was worth a try. If it didn't end well Patta knew it would hurt, but they wouldn't know how it would go unless they tried.

"It will. So, how close are we to the mountain?"

"It is less than a mile-"

"Guys, look!" Frisk exclaimed, stopping everyone. They were pointing at the light in the distance. They were almost to the edge of a forest glade, but they all could see silhouettes of people in the distance. Asriel, intimidated, stepped back until he was behind Patta.

"How are we going to get past them, Patta?" he asked, worried.

"I don't know. Maybe we should get the catcher uniform out and-" Patta reached for the knapsack, but Cohen stopped them.

"Let me deal with this. As soon as you see all them go away, the three of you must run in that direction. Keep going straight and you'll get to the mountain in around ten minutes, just at the other side of the last part of the forest" he instructed, warming up his legs.

"And what are you going to do?"

"You'll see" Cohen grinned widely and jogged to a side, deeper into the forest. Asriel, Frisk and Patta watched him go, a bit puzzled. The people weren't over there, what was he thinking? There was nothing to do other than waiting to see what would happen and hope Cohen knew what he was doing.

Slowly, the group started to approach towards the edge of the trees, being careful to stay out of sight from the rest. It was unfortunate Asriel had white fur; he stuck out like a sore thumb among the trees. The only solution they found was to make sure Asriel stayed all the time behind a tree. It was going to make it a bit harder to be able to run away as soon as it was time to do it, but there was no other solution.

"Yo! It was found! The monster!" Cohen's voice could be heard from the distance. Patta tried to look where he was coming from. Apparently he had gone a long way away so no one would notice he had come from the forest, and was now pointing away of Mt. Ebott "It is with that kid and that other person!"

"How far are they?" one of the people inquired.

"Like three minutes away! The news people are going to try to get an interview!" Cohen ran away in the direction he had come, followed by everyone who had been lounging nearby. Remembering the instructions given, Asriel and his companions ran in the direction Cohen had indicated. None of them said a word, focused on running and trying to save their breath.

Cohen joined them after a couple minutes. Before anyone could greet him, he made frantic gestures behind him. "Run!" he shouted. It didn't need to be said again. None of them needed Asriel's affinity for low intensity sounds to know there were a lot of people coming this way, everyone could hear it. Apparently someone had seen Asriel while he was running, and now a few dozen people were accurately coming towards where the monster was.

There wasn't time to check everyone was okay. Each of the four had their own escape as the priority in their minds, and hoped the rest wouldn't trip and sprain their ankles or anything like that. Thankfully, it didn't seem like such thing would happen. Asriel and Cohen were nimble enough to not to trip with the roots and the stones on the ground of the forest, Frisk was taking their time but managed to keep the pace, and Patta, although definitely not used to the terrain or the environment, had acquired a style that involved jumping often, although it made them quite tired.

"W-Wait, that is…!" Cohen suddenly stopped, extending his arm and grabbing the nearest person; Frisk. That got Patta and Asriel to stop. Before any of them could ask what was wrong, Cohen pointed in front of him. The group had reached the edge of a rocky slope that extended directly to the edge of the forest, and the trees around them were scarcer than in the rest of the forest. The sky was completely visible, and right in front of them, was the place Patta and Asriel had crossed journeyed thousands of miles to reach.

Mt. Ebott wasn't exactly a tall mountain. It wasn't beautiful, or particularly impressive, either. If it hadn't been for its reputation it would have been no more than a generic mountain in the mainland. It had a rocky base, and most of it was covered in trees and vegetation, a sign humanity hadn't tried to establish its presence on it.

For a moment Asriel felt like nothing else in the world existed other than that mountain. He knew he was standing above the large cavern monsterkind was trapped in, monsters resided many miles under the earth, right on the spot his feet were on right in that moment. So long ago, many centuries in the past, monsters had trekked up that mountain to be sealed underground. Now he was going to experience the same thing. Asriel wondered what monsters were thinking when they got to that place, after the war ended with their loss. Did they feel apprehension? Fear? Were they saddened the mountain was a symbol of their prison? Asriel…more than anything else, felt a longing for his home.

Now that he was so close to it he felt greatly determined to get there. Nothing would stop him.

The moment of introspection vanished when Frisk shouted Asriel's name to his ear. It seemed he had spaced out, staring at the mountain, and had forgotten about the crowds that were closing in. Voices could be heard clearly among the trees.

"Over there!"

"I can see them!"

"Is that the monster? I see something white!"

To make the matter even worse, the crowds weren't only behind them. After the slope, and right near the tall fence that separated the mountain from the rest of the world, there were a lot more people, clearly more dedicated to see Asriel than most. There were a couple of those vans Asriel had heard about, strange antennas on top of the vehicles. Humans with large cameras and a couple microphones were wandering around, ready to move at the first sign of Asriel or his companions being nearby.

"We're surrounded!" Patta looked around, trying to find a possible path they could take, but they didn't see anywhere to go. Cohen didn't seem to have any ideas, either, and Asriel's only plan was to run down the slope and towards the fence and hope for the best. At least Frisk had the initiative to suggest something.

"Over here" they said, and stealthily ran parallel to the slope. It was as good plan as any, so the rest followed them, hoping it wouldn't end with a crash against the crowds closing in. The voices kept echoing in the forest, and Patta was sure they saw people several times while they ran.

"Where did they go?"

"I think it was that way"

"The mountain is in that direction, of course they'd go that way"

"There is a slope here! I don't see them!"

"I'll go down"

"I'll go with you. Let's ask those people for help"

"Wait, over here! I saw a kid with a striped sweater!"

Frisk winced, suspecting they had been the one to reveal the location. Cohen looked around, almost panicking. "We're out of time! To the mountain, quick!" Without waiting for a reply Cohen started to descend the slope, managing to get to the bottom without tripping. Asriel hesitated, unsure of how to advance.

"Follow me, Azzy" Frisk grabbed Asriel's hand, and the two of them slowly started to descend. While the children tried to overcome the downwards slope Patta stayed on the top, crouching and ready to distract anyone who gets near while the children were in such a vulnerable place. Cohen seemed to be doing the same thing from the point he was on, although judging by the way he was looking towards the left it seemed there was something making him very nervous coming from that direction.

"I think we got a minute or so, guys!" Cohen notified, making gestures for them to hurry. Patta quickly descending the slope, feeling their heart beating strongly in their chest. They had been on the run for hours already, and it was starting to take its toll on them. How were they going to climb a mountain if they were feeling so tired?

First the fence would need to be climbed, though. Cohen didn't try to climb; Frisk was the first to get there. The kid started climbing the chain-link fence, getting to the top and descending from the other side. Asriel didn't ascend, though. The crowds could be seen, and everyone was pointing at the monster. "Patta! Quick! I'll try something!"

"You can't be serious!" Patta exclaimed, but clung to the fence. Asriel seemed to be sure, and the way they pointed upwards told Patta there was no time for arguments. There was no time for the monster to climb all the way before everyone else arrived, and one single teenager wasn't going to be able to hold off everyone. Hoping Asriel really knew what he was doing, Patta climbed and jumped onto the other side of the fence.

"I'll try to hold them off, go, buddy!" Cohen hurried Asriel but the monster didn't listen, instead standing to Cohen's side "What are you doing?!"

"Maybe this'll buy us some time" Asriel lighted up his claws on fire, moving slowly and eye-catching way. Everyone who was coming and shouting fell silent, mesmerized by Asriel's fire magic, and because they were all waiting to see what he'd do. The most anyone could hear was murmurs coming from the crowd, the words indistinguishable. Patta and Frisk could only stare, it wasn't like they could force Asriel to climb the fence.

Asriel exhaled, feeling ready, and suddenly moved his hands in arcs, the embers he had accumulated flying through the air and falling several meters away of him. The magic fire flared and formed a wall that would reach an adult's thighs. The fire had been made to be completely harmless, anyone could lie in it and suffer absolutely no harmful effects, but nobody in the crowd knew it. Everyone backed off, eyeing the fire with apprehension.

While the crowd thought what they could do about the fire, Asriel turned around and started ascending the chain-link fence. It was a tall fence, but maybe he'd be able to get to the top before the crowds realized the fire magic was nothing to fear.

"Did you see that? It can do things with fire!"

"Do you think all monsters can do that?"

"That's scary"

"Illyria, get back here!"

"The fire feels lukewarm. I don't think it is fire"

"Look at the grass! It's not burning. It isn't even scorched"

"It must be an illusion"

"The monster did a trick!"

"I'll go forward. Stay back, Illyria"

Cohen's eyebrow started to twitch. "Uh, buddy, it didn't work" the teenager turned around to check how much Asriel had progressed in the ten seconds or so his fire magic wall had managed to hold off the crowds. He had barely ascended higher than Cohen's torso. Asriel turned his head around to look at the crowds and started to panic, freezing in place.

"No…no! W-What will we do now...?!" he squealed, grasping the chain-links so hard the metal alloy twisted under his fingers.

"Don't stay there, keep going!" Patta shouted, Frisk agreeing with a nod, but Asriel didn't move. He was completely stunned. Cohen, seeing Asriel wouldn't be able to continue climbing, had a sudden idea.

"Yo, fetal position, now!" Cohen yelled and grasped the back of the neck of Asriel's sweater, pulling out the monster from the fence. Asriel let out a 'woah!' of surprise, but his body unconsciously obeyed Cohen's order. The teenager didn't even bother to look at the crowds to see their reaction to what he was going to do "Patta! High pass!" Cohen stepped back three, four, five times and lifted Asriel in the air, thankful the monster was so light.

Asriel was hardly understanding what was going on. All he knew was that he felt weightless, and that something was grasping his sweater. He was jerked around for a moment, and just when he was about to uncurl to see what was happening the sensation of weightlessness changed.

Patta noticed what Cohen was going to do. Their first thought was how much they wanted to scold Cohen for thinking such an outrageous, drastic and potentially dangerous plan, but the situation really needed drastic measures to be salvaged.

Cohen gained momentum and then launched Asriel into the air with all his strength, aiming above the top of the fence and in Patta's direction. Asriel gasped, startled by the sudden flight he was experiencing, and flailed in the air. Cohen was a strong teenager, he had successfully tossed Asriel over the fence, now the thing was to not to get hurt when landing on the other side. Asriel closed his eyes and whimpered, waiting the impact against the ground.

But Patta wasn't going to let that happen. They positioned themselves where they judged Asriel would fall, and when the monster soared in the air they extended their arms and got ready. The collision knocked the air out of Patta and made them fall onto the ground, a natural consequence of receiving a fuzzy projectile right onto the chest. Frisk didn't waste time, they immediately helped Asriel stand up and tried to help Patta.

"Did I…did I crash against them?" Asriel still couldn't believe what had just happened. Frisk nodded, pulling from Patta's hand in an attempt to get them to sit. The monster stared for a moment before realizing the full extent of the events of the last minute. "Patta! I'm sorry, are you hurt?" Asriel joined Frisk into making Patta stand up. The adult seemed to be fine, if a bit dazed.

The crowds that had followed Asriel in an attempt to see him had been caught by surprise by the teenager's action. It was recorded by at least a dozen cameras, half of them being of the media. Everyone was screaming in surprise, some in outrage and worry for the monster, others in admiration for Cohen. It didn't take long for the crowds to practically slam against the fence ineffectively. When they saw the fence wasn't going to fall down or anything, they gave up. Cohen was absorbed by the crowd and disappeared from sight.

Frisk, Asriel and Patta looked at the crowds, unsure of what to do. Should they say anything? There were so many cameras here! And practically everyone was clamoring for the monster to step forward and talk to them. It was almost surreal, and frankly Patta felt a bit disgusted by it all. However, it didn't seem like there was any ill will.

Asriel's eyes were wide open while he tried to understand just what was going on. The sudden onslaught of attention was disorienting, but the longer he looked at the people the calmer he felt, somehow. Maybe it was because he could feel the majority of the people there wanted him around. It may be just curiosity, or wanting to see the newest weird event in the city with their own eyes, but there were some that were different. Was that a poster over there? There was a teenager with a poster, large letters saying 'HUMANITY WISHES YOU WELL, MONSTER CHILD'. It was heartwarming in a strange way.

"…H-Howdy?" he greeted, taking a step forward. The crowds immediately focused on him, most of the hubbub dying. The monster swallowed, calming down and digging his claws in his palms. It was important to be steady and calm when there were so many eyes focused on him.

In the Underground there were monthly speeches in public. Both Asgore and Toriel gave reports and opinions about recent events, and since it was an important moment, Asriel was always there on the stage, listening carefully to what his parents said. Almost every monster in the Underground attended those reunions. It was to be expected that, when Asriel inherited the role as the King of All Monsters, he'd be the one to stand in front of everyone and talk.

That was why, right in that moment, Asriel tried his best to pretend there weren't a few hundred humans standing on the other side of the fence, and most likely lots and lots of hundreds of _thousands_ of humans more in the city, maybe a few _millions_ , watching through their TVs. Instead he imagined he was on the stage in the Underground, with all those monsters wanting to hear what he had to say. It wasn't a matter of a number; it was a matter of who was listening.

Imagining it was monsters instead of humans did help Asriel to soothe his nervousness.

"Asriel, are you sure about this?" Patta whispered. This either could go really good or really bad, no middle ground. Asriel seemed to be completely sure about it, though. When he turned around to nod at Patta, the adult could see the calm determination in his eyes. Asriel had acquired a certain bravery he didn't have when Patta had met him, they could see that clearly. Asriel had grown up more than they had expected.

The monster stood nearer to the fence, peering at the cameras pointing at him. For a moment he wondered what the people seeing him in TV would be thinking right now, but his attention was soon caught by questions reporters and journalist started asking. Trying once again to imagine what Asgore would do, Asriel requested them to be more orderly. He tried to be firm yet kind, and it seemed to work well enough. Most people stayed silent, only a few asking questions directly.

"Do you have a name?"

"My name is Asriel Dreemurr. I'm…uuuuh…" Asriel glanced back at Frisk and Patta for a moment. Frisk was gesturing him to continue while Patta was indicating to not to say too much about himself "…I'm just a normal kid, back at home"

"How did you get up here? Should we expect monsters to appear all over the surface any time soon?"

Asriel shrugged. "I don't know how I got up here. Sorry, I just don't know anything about that"

"Who are these people you are with? Our sources indicate that adult over there has been with you even before the first time you got sighted"

-ooooo-

"Byssa, look! It's him! It's my monster friend!"

Celia and Byssa were in Graham's inn. When Celia informed Graham she was leaving the city, the innkeeper offered her and Byssa a room to stay until the day she was going to leave. Apparently she had run away from her home, lying to her parents and telling them she was going to be with a friend for a few days. She was going to have to leave the city before they realized she was running away with Celia. The girl didn't mind it, though. All she wanted was to say goodbye to Frisk before leaving.

Of all places she didn't expect Frisk to be in the TV. When Asriel started talking she called for her cousin. Graham arrived too, drying his hands in his apron. Byssa feigned a smile, honestly she felt uncomfortable seeing Asriel again. "A monster…he seems nice"

The reporter asked who the people with Asriel were. The monster's expression changed immediately, acquiring a warmness and sincere appreciation Graham and Byssa found familiar. _"They are my friends. I don't think I would be here if it weren't for them"_

 _"Do you mean here on the mountain?"_

 _"No, I mean I don't think I'd be alive"_

"That's not surprising. Humanity would have eaten him alive if Patta and Frisk hadn't been with him" Graham sentenced, not noticing Byssa looking away in guilt. The weight of her actions was still fresh on her mind.

Celia's eyes widened "People would have tried to eat him?"

"Uh, I don't mean it literally, Celia…"

"Oh"

 _"Did someone try to attack you, Mr. Dreemurr?"_

 _"Mr. Dreemurr?"_ Asriel seemed really baffled. He laughed for a moment before shaking his head _"No! Everyone has been very kind to me. I was scared, and maybe I would be lost somewhere dangerous. I'm glad I met them" The monster looked back again for a moment, smiling "I don't think I could have found better friends than them up here"_

-ooooo-

Patta wasn't someone who tended to show excessive amounts of emotion. They weren't stoic at all, but they had some restraint on their emotions. It was strange to them right now they were tearing up in live television, all because a child had just showed some honest appreciation towards them. Patta turned around to dry their eyes, hoping the cameras would continue focusing on Asriel and wouldn't notice them.

Frisk's usual neutral face changed into one of surprise before showing a happy grin. It was something Asriel had said at least once already, but it still felt good to hear it again. They didn't notice they had stepped forward until they were along Asriel, but it wasn't like that was a bad thing, as far as they knew. The crowd murmured, some of them cooing at the children's friendship and others expressing confused wariness.

The reporters weren't interested in Frisk. They didn't ask Frisk to move away, but they also didn't bother to ask anything to the human child. "Mr. Dreemurr, what will you do now? Why are you returning to this mountain?"

"The Underground is my home, I want to return with my family" Asriel answered, looking at the ground "I have been away for days…they must be worried about me"

-ooooo-

Ananas was a continent away, but she was watching the news report through the international broadcast of one of the channels from her city. Her husband had called her, saying there was a monster in the news and in practically every channel. Ananas had hanged, keeping her voice steady while thanking him for telling her, but as soon as she hung she immediately went to the nearest TV and put the broadcast on.

The reporter from the channel she was watching now pointed the microphone towards Asriel. _"Will you ever try to return to the surface?"_

 _"Uuuuh…not alone? W-We, uh, we all want to be up here…I don't want to be the only one…"_

"That's a very good costume" An employee from the airport Ananas was at right now had approached, watching the news broadcast with skepticism. Ananas frowned.

"Why do you think it's a costume?"

"Monsters don't exist. That must be some kid in a costume. Don't you think if monsters were real there'd be a bigger uproar about it?"

"I was told in my country the rumors about the monster has been around for several days already. This is the end of it, a monster was found" She wasn't going to say she had directly interacted with the monster. It wasn't like that employee would believe her.

"It is no different than the monster of Loch Ness or the Yeti. Many says they have seen them and there's no proof of it. I bet by next week no one will remember this weird goat thing" he said, smiling sardonically. Ananas wasn't in mood for an argument, so she stayed silent and focused on the screen. It seemed the whole monster business was going to be confined to the city – at most it'd be to the country. It'd take _every_ monster currently in existence to be on the surface for the whole world to believe monsterkind existed. One single child wasn't going to change that.

It seemed that, despite the unprecedented event that was the revelation monsters existed, nothing was going to change worldwide. Not even the city was going to have big changes. Once Asriel was gone, life would return to normal. Sure, everyone in the city would know monsters existed, but it wasn't like anything else would happen.

In hindsight maybe everyone put a little too much stock on the event that was Asriel's existence over the surface. It was not really as big deal as some may have thought.

-ooooo-

"What do you think of humanity?" Another reporter practically pushed everyone away until she reached the fence, passing her arm through the chain-links and almost hitting Asriel in the face with a microphone. Asriel pushed the microphone away, but decided to answer anyway.

"I…I think there is no correct answer to that? Humans, uh, aren't all the same"

Humans are inherently good. Humans are mostly good. Humans are good but can be very bad. Humans are the worst thing in existence. Humans are mostly bad. All those were opinions Asriel had heard from different people he had met, from Patta to Byssa. All those opinions were true to a point.

"It depends from each person. I-It's the same than monsters, in that way!"

That was the best answer Asriel could think. It sounded prudent, he thought. The answer caused some murmuring in the crowds, most likely because of the part about monsters and humans being more similar than they had thought. Some liked that, some felt rather unsure about it, but at least no one was outright shouting that wasn't true.

"Mr. Dreemurr do you know about the radio show that is being aired right now?" another reported inquired. Asriel scratched his ear, confused. Radio show? The Underground had many things but not a radio show. Something new to hear about!

"Oh…I don't. Sorry…"

The reporter's aide brought a large radio and turned it on, turning the volume to the max. A familiar voice sounded from the speaker, and everyone turned their attention to the radio. Asriel, Patta and Frisk recognized it immediately, after all, they had heard it just three hours ago.

-ooooo-

"Humans and monsters were known to live together a long time ago. Keep in mind those were medieval times, there were many social and life problems in that age that surely will sound barbaric of archaic to we the people of the present, yet monsters and humans managed to coexist"

Ciruel was speaking with the tone that befit a man who knew what he was talking about: full of authority and persuasiveness. It was a bit strange to be telling that to a microphone instead of to a person directly in front of him. The radio show hostess was to his side. She was looking at Ciruel, enraptured.

"Really? So, if monsters left the Underground, do you think we'll be able to live all together again?" her eyes were sparkling.

"I can say there are very good chances we can! Remember we have changed our mindset and social customs since the last time monsters were among us. It's true we had absolutely no contact with monsterkind for centuries, however, I believe when it's time for monsters to return we'll be socially prepared for it. It's true we humans have some problems regarding tolerance we still need to overcome, but in my professional opinion I can say the majority of humans will at least be willing to give monsterkind a hand" Ciruel smiled. He doubted he'd be able to see it all happen, chances were the Barrier would be broken long after his death, but he truly believed humans would get along with monsters. The recent events had reignited that belief.

The radio show hostess nodded, believing every word Ciruel had said. She turned towards her microphone and checked the clock on the wall. "You heard correctly, dear viewers! With the recent hubbub regarding that monster child the possibility of monsters living with us again is very real. Here at the station wish monsterkind the best and hope to see them again!

Now it's time for our questions segment. If you'd like to ask our specialist in monsters anything, please call our number!" It didn't take long for the phone to start ringing. The hostess made a sign with her hand, the call was transferred to Ciruel. "You are on air! What question do you have?" the hostess encouraged.

"Hello? Uh, mister…" the woman on the line sounded young. She wasn't able to decide how to call Ciruel, so instead she went for the question "If humans and monsters were living in harmony so long ago why did the war happen?"

The scholar fully expected that question to arise at some point. "My ancestors' findings aren't conclusive, but from what has been found I can say we weren't exactly living in harmony with monsters. It was not _their_ fault. As I said, those were tough times, the social values were different, and due to that the relationships between humans and monsters were cordial yet tense"

"Wouldn't it happen all over again?"

Ciruel exhaled loudly and glanced towards the radio hostess. She seemed very interested about the answer to that question too. "Times have changed. While monsters and humans had no contact for centuries, I think this also means a chance to restart. Whatever caused trouble back then is surely gone, and humanity as a whole is more open-minded than it was so long ago.

You may have heard about the monster child that is currently roaming somewhere. I'm happy to say he has been accepted by the great majority of the inhabitants of this city. I have personally checked the comments and the trending topics today, and I can say the monster has gained the city's attention. What people say about the monster is interesting…"

-ooooo-

Asriel had returned with Patta and Frisk, and the three of them had sit on a rock near the fence, listening to the radio show.

 _"Excuse me, miss, would it be okay if we read aloud a few excerpts of what has been posted in the social networks?"_ Ciruel asked to the radio show hostess.

 _"Of course, please go ahead. I'll read a few too" There_ was silence for a few seconds _"'We're not alone in the world. People talked about aliens and monsters far away, but they were always nearer than we thought.' That puts things in perspective, doesn't it?"_

 _"It does. Look, something was just posted: 'The monster is in TV! His name is Asriel, and he speaks really mature for his age. How cute!'"_

 _"Oh no, I wish I could be seeing that right now…"_

 _"I'm sure it'll be recorded and posted everywhere. This is a sample of how much interest everyone has about the mons-about Asriel. Everyone is talking about it right now"_

 _"'He wants to return with his family. They raised him well. I'd like to meet them too'_

 _"Wow, there are so many people saying they want to meet other monsters too! Do you think this is mere curiosity or that there is something else going on?"_

 _"The impression I have is that most of the people who are writing do want to meet monsters not_ just _because of the novelty, but because they are willing to meet people who are different to us and want to interact with monsters. It's a friendly approach we should all try to follow as well"_ Ciruel said.

Asriel felt a strange mix of emotion overcoming him. He wasn't sure how to describe it very well, but he did know there was both uncertainty and happiness in it. So now there was a lot of interest in monsters, all because of him. Not only that, many were watching the news report about him right now. The monster supposed that, if there were any overwhelmingly negative messages, neither Ciruel nor the radio hostess would read them aloud.

He wasn't wrong. The number of offensively negative messages was so low you could count them in one hand, but Ciruel didn't ignore more tempered adverse lines. _"But of course not everything is positive. While most people are accepting of monsters and want to know more, there are some that express wariness or dislike of Asriel. Let's see…'I don't think I like this very much. Sending a child as the first monster to be seen could be a strategy to make us let our guards down. If it works then adult and more threatening monsters could arrive an invade us'"_

Patta scowled. Of course there'd be some who would think something like that. Asriel frowned and the cameras, rather rudely, focused on his reaction. Frisk ineffectively tried to cover the view with their body, but Asriel stopped them. "It's okay"

Ciruel continued talking. _"In my personal opinion I doubt wariness based on something like this being a ploy from monsters should be taken seriously. I met Asriel personally, and the conclusion I got is that he is no more than an innocent bystander, in every way possible. There is nothing to fear"_

"…I'll have to visit him and thank him for trying, I suppose" Patta murmured to Frisk. Frisk didn't reply to that; they were looking at the ground with blank expression.

 _"I don't know Asriel at all, but I think it's unlikely this is a ploy of any type. Let's take more calls. Please feel free of asking anything to our expert here, but remember the calls are screened to avoid-"_ the radio was turned off and the hostess was interrupted.

Asriel was resigned. He had expected some to think negatively about him, but not that it was some sort of plan. "I…I swear there's nothing like that going on…"

"Do you still not remember how you got out of the Underground?" once another reported inquired. Asriel raised his head. He tried to sound firm, but he couldn't hide the way his voice trembled.

"I don't know. I just…somehow got up here. I don't remember anything, but I'm sure it's nothing like that! All I want is to return home…"

-ooooo-

Mahiru, Selby and Cam were hanging out in Mahiru's home when the news report started. There had been no comment beyond gasps and 'what the hell?!' when the cameras showed Cohen literally throwing Asriel over the fence at Mt. Ebott. The channel they were watching had not focused on the monster, though. Instead, the reporter had managed to catch up to Cohen. Running away through the crowd had been impossible, so the teenager was pretty much cornered. _"Excuse me, may I ask a couple questions?"_

 _"I'd rather not"_ Cohen replied and tried to move away, but the crowd was too thick. Taking advantage of that situation, the reporter placed the microphone nearer to Cohen.

 _"Why did you aid the monster to get over the fence?"_

 _"Fuck off!"_ he spat. Mahiru winced, it seemed the broadcast could only barely censor the word instead of cutting it off altogether.

 _"Did he tell you anythi-"_

 _"He told me nothing! I was helping him return home. Is there a problem with that?!"_

"He was doing what?" Cam seemed to be in a lot of disbelief "After everything that happened in these two days Cohen did what?!"

"No way! Why would he…" Selby shared his confusion. Mahiru smiled slightly, though.

"I think that is good. It wouldn't be nice to keep the monster away of his home"

"What do you- okay, yes, you are right, but remember everything Cohen did! I don't get this at all"

"Maybe he changed his mind"

"Shut up, guys, it isn't over yet" Cam said and increased the volume of the television.

 _"What would your opinion of the monster be?"_

 _"I-Is this going to be on TV?"_ Cohen looked directly at the camera. Apparently he didn't realize this was a live broadcast _"Uh, erm, y-you know, the monster has a name! His name is Asriel!"_

 _"Would you say he holds any ill will towards humans?"_

 _"What? No! He doesn't!"_ Cohen said emphatically _"I knew him only for a little while, but I doubt he dislikes humanity in any way. I saw how much he trusts the two he has been traveling with!"_

 _"And what do you know about the adult and the child the monster is with?"_

 _"The guy is a pretty nice guy, and Frisk won't let anything happen to Asriel. What do you want me to say, that Asriel is manipulating them in any way? Because that is not what is going on at all, I saw how those three get along!"_

"When did he meet them again?" Selby wondered.

"But he is right, they are nice people" Mahiru said. She didn't tell all the details about what had happened the other night, all she had told them was that she had fallen during the pursue, hitting her head against the sidewalk and giving herself a concussion, and that Patta and Frisk had helped her "They helped me. I also talked briefly with the monster, I think he is nice too"

"Nice people don't maul other people's hands" Cam muttered bitterly, rubbing the bandages on his hand. He had lied and said a dog had bit him – as if anyone would believe a goat monster had done it – and had needed to endure a rabies shot. That had cemented his dislike for Asriel.

"That was Cohen's fault. He told you to get him" Selby was upset with Cohen too since the night before. He didn't understand how after Cohen's little spectacle less than twelve hours ago his former friend could do and say all that stuff he had just seen.

Mahiru changed the channel, looking for a program that showed more about the monster, not about Cohen. "So, guys, are you going to give Cohen another chance?"

"Hell no"

"If I do it'll be in a month or two" Cam narrowed his eyes "I don't want to hear of him for a while"

"You do that. I won't be his friend ever again" Selby seemed quite sure about that.

-ooooo-

"Don't you think this has gone for long enough, Asriel?" Patta asked, Frisk nodding in agreement "What are you even trying to achieve here?"

"…I'm not sure" Asriel admitted. His reason for standing there and letting himself be interviewed was not clear not even to himself. It wasn't because he got a sudden memory telling him to do it, or because he craved attention right at that moment. The monster had an inkling of what the reason was, but wasn't sure how to express it "I think I just didn't want to leave without saying anything…I think that wouldn't have been good"

"It's no problem" Frisk said. It wasn't like there was anything to be done, though. Asriel had already been recorded, broadcasted and heard by at least half of the city inhabitants, and at least Patta and Frisk had the impression it didn't go badly. At least Asriel made clear enough he had no bad intentions towards humanity, and with some luck everyone would think the same about the rest of monsterkind "Let's go"

"Yeah, let's go" Patta stood up from the rock. Asriel nodded and raised his voice.

"We, uh, we'll get going. Thank you for listening to me…and for everything. It was nice to meet you all" Seeing the monster was about to leave, the crowd immediately started asking more questions, demanding more words, practically begging Asriel to not to leave yet. It had all been enough, Asriel turned around and walked towards the start of the path that went into the routes on Mt. Ebott. Frisk ran to catch up with him, but before Patta could do the same one single reporter focused her attention on them.

"Excuse me, aren't you afraid you may go missing on Mt. Ebott? Are you aware of the legend of this mountain?"

Patta stopped and tried to not to look afraid. "…Both Frisk and I know about it"

"Do you trust the monster to keep you safe while climbing it?"

"I trust _myself_ to keep us safe. That is all there is to say about the matter" Patta turned around to follow Asriel and Frisk, but the reporter had one last question.

"Would it be okay if we waited for you and the kid to return later?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever" All Patta wanted was to go away, having a flock of reporters and cameras focused on them was not something they wished in the near future. Promising themselves they'd look for alternate ways to leave Mt. Ebott, Patta went into the trails.

The noise of the crowds was gone after a few hundred feet into the trails. Branches and leaves formed arches way above them, similar to the forest they had left not too long ago, but the trek was slightly easier. While it was true the path was uphill and therefore had the potential to be quite tiring, there was a clear and wide trail, a scenic route of sorts. Mt. Ebott had the potential to be a beautiful tourism point if it weren't because of the legend that hung over it.

Frisk and Asriel had stopped, waiting for Patta. "This mountain is nice" Frisk commented, looking towards the barely visible sky.

Patta looked at Frisk. There was something they needed to tell them, but first… "It is. Now the problem is to find a way into the Underground. Any ideas, Asriel?"

Asriel looked around as if he expected a sign to tell him where to go. "…I don't know. Maybe it's near the top? The castle is near the Barrier, and the path towards it is sloped upwards"

"We are going to explore Mt. Ebott! I can't believe we are here" Despite the legend it seemed Frisk was quite excited about climbing the mountain. It was difficult for Patta to share that enthusiasm. They were still feeling quite nervous about it all. Asriel did have an easier time dealing with Frisk's sudden panache, and the two children got ahead of Patta.

"Wait for me, you two! This is Mt. Ebott, you know this is…this place is…" Patta froze. Blurry images flashed in their eyes. Leaves, trees, dirt, the sky…a humanoid shape…it was all indistinguishable. It all blurred together, as if a movie reel had just been dragged over their eyes at a very high speed. Those images weren't alone, though. All noise was gone, Patta couldn't hear a thing. But over everything else, there was also a feeling, an emotion that made everything cohesive:

Primal, irrepressible, unrestrained _terror_.

Patta's legs trembled violently, they had to support themselves against a tree to not to fall down. They started breathing faster, and without realizing it they started to wail. They felt despair, intense fear, and wanted nothing more than everything to be okay. Over everything they just couldn't understand why this was happening to them, why they had been suddenly invaded by such intense emotions.

"…ta…lp...okay?" a voice sounded in the distance. Then, as sudden as it started, it ended. Those blurry images vanished, the sound of the wind and the birds filled the surroundings, and most of that intense fear went away. It wasn't completely gone – some of it remained because of the intensity of the moment – but at least they weren't on the verge of breaking down.

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

* * *

Something was tugging down on their scarf. Patta shook their head and looked what it was. Frisk was there, with an expression of intense worry. "What happened?" they whispered "You seemed very scared…"

"Scared? They almost screamed! What happened?!" Asriel now was the one frightened, mostly because he had no idea what had just happened to Patta. Patta tried to smile to calm him down, but it looked more like a grimace than a smile.

"…I got a sudden headache. I'm okay" they said as calmly as possible, taking deep breaths to keep themselves under control. It was a lousy excuse, and Patta knew it. Judging by Asriel's face, he didn't believe it not even for a second, but he didn't press further. He nodded slowly.

"…okay. If you say so…" Asriel didn't go away, instead staying near Patta as if he expected the adult to break down again. Patta tried to tell him they were okay now, that it wasn't going to happen again. The monster child ignored that. Deciding it was a waste of time to try to get Asriel to not get so fussy about what had happened.

"Frisk, shouldn't you be going home now? This mountain is no place for you" Patta decided to get that out of the way too. Their intention had been to let Frisk stick until they got to the base of the mountain, but the crowds of people wanting to see Asriel had forced a change of plans. Now that they were away of the crowds this was the chance to get back to the original plan "I can accompany you to find a spot where there aren't any people waiting"

That got Asriel alarmed again. Frisk wasn't going to change their mind, but Patta surely would keep insisting unless there was a good excuse. "B-But there's going to be a lot of people everywhere. They'll be waiting for you" he said, trying to not to sound like he was looking for an excuse for Frisk to stay around. Patta didn't seem to notice Asriel's hesitation, instead trying to look between the trees. It wasn't possible to see all the way to the fence from the point they were in.

"You got a point there. I don't think I like the idea of Frisk getting cornered by all that people. If Frisk goes alone…I think it'll be better if I go with them"

"Don't let Asriel get to his home alone" Frisk hurried to say. Patta scowled, as if that thought had ever crossed their mind.

"Of course I won't! Who knows what dangers is on this mountain, but…"

"Let me stick around. We can return together after he's in the Underground" Frisk disguised their real intention very well, Patta had no idea about it. Although Frisk wasn't sure what they'd do, exactly. Waltz through the Barrier and then pretend to be all 'whoops, didn't mean to do that'? And what would Patta do after they realize Frisk is on the other side of the Barrier, trapped possible for the rest of their life? As if Patta would just walk away.

Frisk bit their bottom lip. They had just realized they hadn't thought this all very well. They hadn't taken into account how Patta would react. Maybe if they got separated from them during the way back then…no, that would only make Patta wander around the mountain. That would only increase the risk of them going missing. In fact, both Patta and them were in risk of going missing! What were they supposed to do now?

Patta couldn't even imagine what was going through Frisk's head right now. Having no idea of any of that, Patta sighed. "Fine. But stick close to me, Frisk. Asriel and you are both my responsibility" Patta extended their hand. Frisk nodded and grabbed Patta's hand, their nervousness making them grasp it tighter than they intended. Patta interpreted it as normal fear about the threatening nature of Mt. Ebott. "Frisk, we'll be okay. Don't worry. I'll protect you"

"I know you will…" Frisk muttered. They were actually grateful for that, which in turn increased Frisk's guilt for what they planned to do. "Thank you, Patta"

"Don't mention it" Patta affectionately ruffled Frisk's hair and looked at Asriel "Come on, let's go. We have a mountain to climb now"

Asriel nodded, and the three started walking, but the monster was very worried too. Unlike Patta, he knew very well what Frisk had been thinking about. He really wanted to calm Frisk down, give him some reassurance, but with Patta so close to Frisk it was way too risky. Instead, Asriel got closer to Frisk and grabbed their other hand. "Are you still sure about this? I'm having second thoughts" Asriel decided to take the risk and whisper that to Frisk. Frisk's turmoil seemed more important than Patta catching wind of what he was saying, that is how he saw things right now. Thankfully, Patta didn't hear Asriel at all, too focused on trying to find a way into the Underground.

Frisk nodded and whispered back. "I haven't changed my mind…I still want to go with you. I just don't know…" they trailed off. There wasn't much time left to think about what they'd do. Asriel didn't realize what Frisk's hesitation was, though. He hadn't thought about what Patta would do.

And Patta…they had their own concerns. The intense feelings of fear and despair that had invaded them not too long ago were still fresh in their mind, and they didn't understand how or why it happened. In many ways it felt similar to certain moments that had happened during the past few days. It didn't feel like a subconscious order, like it had happened when they were impulse to enter the alley that led them to meet Frisk and Celia. It felt more similar to those sudden images that had invaded their mind when they had seen Asriel's drawing of New Home, just that this time it had intense emotions attached. What was going on?

The last part of the journey had started. Mt. Ebott was the last obstacle. The three of them steeled their resolves and continued, hoping for the best.

* * *

Why did you go silent a moment ago? That happened ages ago, and it isn't even you anymore. You shouldn't let it bother you that much.

IT **I** W **T** A **W** S A **A** T **S** ER **F** RI **E** F **A** YING **R** - **-**

 _-Sorry. I didn't mean to say it out loud._

 _It was a terrifying moment for me, and…it doesn't get any easier for me to watch this._

 _I have watched this part of the timeline hundreds of times and I still feel so, so hopeless…_

 _…_

 _You wouldn't understand._

On second thought I shouldn't have asked. I don't care that much.

Proceed.


	30. The True Curse of Mt Ebott

It was a nice day, perfect for hiking. The sky was cloudy and there was a pleasant breeze drifting everywhere. It was one of those days that made one feel revitalized and happy to be alive. Mt. Ebott was like a completely different world, compared to the city's ambience.

However, nobody was enjoying any of that. They all had their own worries and problems to think about. So far most of the trek had been in silence, the three of them were focused on their own thoughts. It had been an hour already, and there was no more noise than the sound of their steps on the dirt and the leaves of the trees and weeds swaying in the wind.

Patta was more tired than the children, and it wasn't because the adult was not used to this type of activity. It was because they were carrying Frisk over their back. It wasn't easy to walk uphill and have to carry a child at the same time. "…Frisk, I think you…you are a bit too old for…this. You…are really heavy, you know…" they panted, feeling the sweat rolling off their forehead.

"I'm okay now. Thank you" Frisk said. Patta let Frisk off their back and stretched, trying to soothe their aching muscles.

"That was not fun at all. Once I get off this mountain I'll spend the rest of the day sleeping, I swear it" Patta muttered, staring up the rocky path "Next time you need to rest I think we'll all stop, Frisk"

"I'm tired too, Patta…" Asriel said, leaning against a tree. Patta rolled their shoulders and nodded.

"I want to sit down too. Let's get to the top of this slope, then we'll rest. Think you can resist?"

"I can" Asriel wasn't going to fall down in exhaustion, there was no problem on getting a bit further into the trail before resting. Frisk, most likely because they had been carried for a while already, was more refreshed, but didn't mind stopping again. They were going to say it when a feeling overcame them, just like it had happened to Patta an hour before.

It was not fear or terror. It was something more akin to tempered dread, an overwhelming feeling something was going to go wrong. Frisk looked around in alarm, as if that thing that was going to go wrong was nearby, as if half of the mountain was going to slide off and trap them underneath the ground. There was nothing dangerous nearby, but the feeling continued. Not knowing what danger their head was telling them was extremely stressing, they wanted to do no more than run away and get away of Mt. Ebott.

"Are you okay?" Patta and Asriel had walked a dozen feet before they noticed Frisk wasn't with them. They were too far to be able to see Frisk's expression, but the way Frisk was tense made Patta feel uneasy too. Their first thought was that, just like it had happened to them, Frisk had received sudden memories that couldn't belong to them "A-Are you seeing something in your mind, like…"

"I'm scared" Frisk's answer was blunt and they tried to sound like there was nothing wrong, but Frisk continued turning around, looking for something that simply wasn't there.

Patta immediately started to go back to the point where Frisk was standing, and crouched to meet their eyes. "I'm scared too, but let's not let that stop us. The sooner we get done with all this, the better. There's no time for you to return back, so the only option is to continue. Think you'll be okay?"

"…I will. I just feel like we're in danger"

"Hard not to when all we have heard about the mountain is that nobody returns from it. We can't stand here all day, so let's get Asriel to the Underground and be the first two people to return from Mt. Ebott!" Patta made their best to sound like they had no doubts everything would be okay, that they wouldn't disappear, even if they didn't feel like that at all. Frisk needed reassurance and Patta wanted to provide it.

It took a while for Frisk to calm down. Their stress got Asriel high-strung, and he was now straining his ears trying to detect anything that could be considered a risk to their lives. Patta just took several deep breaths. They were the adult, it was their duty to be the one the children could rely on. Freaking out like they had done an hour before was something they didn't want to ever see again.

"Now listen to me, you two" Patta said once the three had finally gotten further ahead. The group had stopped at a small viewpoint; the city could be seen between the trees. Most of the crowd had left already, but there were a couple vans and a few people walking around "We need to calm down. I know we are tense, but it is all because of what we have heard about the mountain. Remember that those who do return surely go unnoticed, it is impossible absolutely everyone who has been here disappears"

"...but what about Celia's parents? And the search party too?" Frisk pointed. Of course they would give that a lot of weight, that was what led to Celia living with them for a year. What Patta didn't expect was Asriel to support Frisk's point.

"There were more than twenty people, Patta. A lot of people went missing in the same day" he said grimly.

"…I wasn't aware of that" Patta admitted, looking away "Fine, this looks bad for us. Believe that if you want, but it won't get us anywhere. Let's just not waste any time sitting around doing nothing, then"

"Wait!" Frisk protested immediately. It was true they felt filled with dread, most likely because of the legend they knew very well, but they also needed more time. Even though they had wracked their head for an hour already, they still hadn't thought of a plan or a way to convince Patta to let them go with Asriel. Telling them directly was very unlikely to work "I'm still tired. Let's rest for a moment"

"Five minutes. That is all I'm willing to give. We'll rest for five minutes and then we'll continue" Patta conceded, sitting on the ground and looking towards the city. By now they were starting to notice there was something strange going on with Frisk. They couldn't pinpoint it very well, so they supposed it was more nervousness due to the place they were on right now. How to approach the topic? "Frisk, there is something going through your head, and it has been going on for a while already. Are you sure you are okay?"

Asriel stayed silent. He stared at Frisk, waiting to see what they would say. Somehow, Patta's concern made Frisk calmer and more prepared to pretend they weren't hiding something. "I'm fine, just scared. It's because of the mountain"

That made sense to Patta. Frisk knew of the legend since long ago, it made sense for them to be scared since the beginning of the day, knowing they'd be climbing it. "I see" There was nothing else to be said.

During the next few minutes Asriel tried to talk to Frisk, but the human child ignored them. "Maybe you should tell them, Frisk…I don't think you'll be able to hide it any longer" he whispered, but Frisk made no sign of having heard it. The tense silence continued. The five minutes scheduled for the resting time passed, but Patta didn't stand up to continue. Seeing the adult was deep in contemplation Frisk walked away. "Frisk, wait!" The monster reached Frisk, who was looking around "What are you looking for?"

"A way to the Underground" Frisk replied "A cave, or a trail, anything"

"I don't think we're high enough to get to the Underground" Asriel said, unsure. He didn't really know how they'd find the cave that led to the Barrier and the castle, but it was doubtful it was nearby. Frisk gave it a little thought, as if that had been the answer they needed. They went to the side of the trail and looked between the plants and trees "Shouldn't we wait for Patta?"

"We should" Frisk didn't stop, though. Asriel bit one of his claws, nervous, and looked back at Patta. They were approaching already, not happy at all "Uh-oh. Let me help you"

"I told you two to not to get too far away of me. Is that so hard to understand?" they scolded. Frisk tensed and ignored them, but Asriel at least had the consideration to bow down his head apologetically before continuing searching with Frisk "Okay, what are you two looking for?"

"A path!"

"But we are already on a path. I'm not sure we should-"

"Found one" Frisk suddenly said and vanished between the plants.

"Damn it, what did I just say?!" Patta threw their hands up in exasperation before following Frisk between the plants. Not too far from the main trail they had been walking on there was a less trodden trail. While the main trail was wide and almost scenic, going in zigzag through the surface of the mountain, the path Frisk found was much narrower and was almost covered in vines and bushes, even though it went upwards without any deviations. Thorny branches got stuck on Asriel's clothes, and Patta had trouble getting between some of the trees in the path, but at least now that there was a new possible way to traverse the mountain Frisk had the consideration to wait for them. "Frisk, it's not a good idea to go into potentially dangerous places like this trail. You don't know where it could lead!" Patta protested after having to get up from having tripped for the umpteenth time.

"…we went into a random alleyway back in the city…" Asriel said lowly. Patta was not in good mood, and the monster didn't want to be the target of their wrath.

Asriel's tone didn't stop Patta from turning their head and glaring at him for a moment. "Frisk, I'm serious, stop and-"

"Here we are" Through the thick foliage light poured onto a plateau. It seemed that the path had really cut through a lot of terrain uphill. The plateau ended in a strange oval cliff that faced the city too, and it was proof the trail Frisk found had been very effective in letting the group ascend.

"Wow, we are so high!" Asriel excitedly approached the edge of the cliff. The view was like nothing he had ever seen before. It had been one thing to see part of the city from the roof of the abandoned house, it was an entirely different thing to see the whole city from the mountain. It seemed so far away and intimidating, Asriel almost couldn't believe he had spent a few days in that place.

"We are. Uh, well done, Frisk" Patta said awkwardly "Sorry for shouting at you before, I guess" At least this meant there was progress in the journey to the Underground "Let's look around! But also let's stay away of the cliff, the height is making me nervous"

"I'll go over here" Frisk said, making sure not to look at Patta. They really were trying their hardest to not to make Patta more suspicious than they already were. Patta didn't notice that, too busy feeling enthusiastic to try to find a way into the mountain. Frisk had led Asriel and them to a new area, it was all thanks to them.

The plateau wasn't large, but it branched off into several paths that had as much disuse as the one Frisk had found. Not too far away, to a side, there was a larger one, forming a natural staircase towards the bottom of the cliff. It seemed the section of Mt. Ebott they had reached had several outcrops and plains. After reminding the children to once again not get too far away from them, Patta started exploring the branching paths.

The first few led nowhere, the trails disappeared between the foliage and from what Patta could see it would be a major hassle to try to cross through. It was better to avoid those unless there was no other option. There was one trail that was more promising than the rest, ascending a bit more and getting into a series of strange rock formations, carved into the mountain. The rocks and eroded stone formed arches and small caverns, reaffirming the natural beauty of the mountain.

When Asriel saw the caves he gasped in surprise, immediately running and entering one. "We must be very close! This is like the one that contains the Barrier!"

"Uh, I don't think it is deep enough to lead into the Underground…" Patta couldn't see very far into the cavern, and apparently neither could Frisk. Asriel received once another word of caution before the monster went deeper into the cavern. His eyes, much more used to the natural darkness, could distinguish most of the details on the walls and the floor. Although most of the Underground had been filled with magic illumination to imitate the cycle of night and day, there was always a tenuous darkness everywhere. Much to his disappointment all he could see was that the cavern led nowhere.

"…it wasn't this one" Asriel said after getting out of the cavern.

"There are many other caverns here. One of these must be the one we're looking for" Frisk hurried to encourage Asriel, pointing at the rest of the holes on the mountain. It was going to take quite a while to inspect all of the caverns, but if there was one thing all of them had it was time.

While Patta and Asriel inspected the caverns to try to find if any of those was the one they were looking for, Frisk slowly started to wander away. They still had that nagging feeling there was something wrong, like there was something that didn't belong in the picture. Trying to get their mind off those thoughts, Frisk stood near the natural rock arches, looking around the area.

A slight drizzle had started falling. Somehow that helped them calm down a bit, feeling refreshed by the drops. Apparently the section of the mountain they had reached didn't only have caverns in this area, there was also an ascending path that went higher on Mt. Ebott.

The top of the mountain couldn't be seen yet. Wanting to see how that path went Frisk told Patta they would go over there. The adult said it was okay, most likely because this time Frisk had bothered to tell them before wandering away, so Frisk started climbing the path.

There weren't many trees in this area, it was almost barren. Bushes and moss covered the rocks, the lusher parts of the mountain had been left behind when they had gotten to the oval lookout. Frisk ascended, noting they could see Patta and Asriel near the caverns, and got to the top. The child dusted off their hands and looked around to see if there were more caverns nearby. There were, but that wasn't what got their attention. "…what?" Frisk stared in awe at the strange structures that were near one of the caverns.

Those definitely weren't natural formations. They were formed by branches and thin wooden logs, rudimentarily tied with what seemed to be entwined vines and a few ropes. Some of those structures were positioned against the rocky walls, while others were laid around in pyramidal shapes strewn around the area.

After a moment of staring in wonder at the structures Frisk felt their dread intensify. Deciding this was something Patta should be informed of, Frisk quickly descended back to where Patta was waiting for Asriel. "Patta! I found something!"

The adult turned around. "Really? What is it?"

"I think it is where the Hermit used to live!"

That got Patta's full attention. It was true Ciruel had said not many believed the Hermit was a person that really existed, and now Frisk had found what could possibly be conclusive proof of that! Ciruel would be happy to hear about it. "Where is that?"

"That way" Frisk pointed the rocky path they had descended from.

"Is there anything else up there? Other trails, caverns, anything?"

Frisk briefly described what they had seen. That was enough to get Patta's attention, although they couldn't deny they felt a lot of curiosity about where the Hermit used to live. Asriel exited a nearby cavern in that moment, looking discouraged. "None of these is the right one" he said, shoulders slumped.

"That is okay, Asriel, there are some more over there" Patta couldn't hide an excited grin. Asriel half-heartedly grinned back and followed Patta and Frisk up to the place the wooden structures could be found.

The monster wasn't really interested on the structures; he was more concerned about the few caves he could see. The thought of the Underground being so close yet being unable to get there was starting to make Asriel uneasy, and he didn't want to lash out at Patta or Frisk. Asriel immediately set out to explore the caves while Patta and Frisk went to check the constructions. "This is amazing! If the Hermit lived here these things would be around two centuries old. Ciruel would love to be here!"

"…I don't think I like this" Frisk mumbled while approached the entrance of one of the constructions. It was dark inside, although rays of light fell from between the branches and logs. Patta felt the oppressive heat from inside the structure and backed off, fanning their face with their hand.

"It stinks in here!" it did. It smelled like mold and sawdust, combined with an unpleasant aroma neither Patta nor Frisk could pinpoint. The entrance wasn't big, just enough for Patta to crawl in and see what was inside. There wasn't much space to move, the adult calculated there was only enough space for them to lie down on the ground.

There were a few trinkets strewn on the dirt. Leaves, twigs and what seemed to be plastic transparent wrappers littered the ground. Tattered clothes were placed on a side, Patta took one to see it better outside. Those were denim pants, and from the looks of it, it had been violently torn. A large portion of the fabric was gone, leaving the pants unwearable. There were ominous dark red stains on what was left, a liquid had been splattered over it a long time ago. "…Uh…I think…I don't want to know what happened to the Hermit" Patta said slowly, then suddenly threw the ruined pants inside the structure, quite grossed out.

"I'll be with Azzy" Frisk hurried to say, the dread had intensified even more. Frisk ran towards the cave Asriel had gone in and called for the monster, receiving a reply from inside before Frisk entered. Patta, after taking a few moments to calm themselves down, approached another of the Hermit's structures, near the rocky wall.

"This is not a safe place to build something, huh. Let's see…" Patta crawled inside, finding it darker than the other one. Patta was extremely reluctant to blindly grope inside. They looked around for a tool they could use, choosing a stick to try to find out what was inside. Patta tried to explore the ground with the stick, but although they did find out there were objects in there, there was no way they could guess what those were. Resigning themselves to having to use their hand to do it, Patta grimaced and grasped the very first object they could find, pulling it out of the structure.

It was a thick notebook, and it seemed to be quite old. The pages were yellowish and brittle, even though it was a generic notebook found in any store. Between the pages there were pieces of paper and thin objects, none of them bigger than the pages. Patta almost couldn't believe it, this could potentially be invaluable! "Frisk, Asriel, are you two okay?" Patta inquired when the children exited the cavern they were in. Asriel nodded, still dispirited, and went with Frisk to the next cave. Having made sure the children were okay, Patta sat on the dirt near the mouth of one of the unchecked caves and opened the notebook.

The notebook was filled with notes scribbled in childish calligraphy, all of it in all-caps. The text was riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes befitting of a person that didn't know better, and the pages were stained with dirt and strange molds. It was not a pleasant sight.

Patta started reading the notes. They had a little trouble deciphering the calligraphy, but it wasn't that bad. The very first line gave an idea of when it was written. 'KILLED ANOTHER. HIKER. HAVE A NOTEBOOK AND PEN. STARTED WRITTING TO KILL TIME. APPARENTLY IT HAS BEEN 11 YEARS. LIVING ALONE FOR 11 YEARS AND I'M GLAD FOR THAT. I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE EVER AGAIN' So the Hermit was around twenty-three when the notes were started. Behind that page there was a cloth bracelet branded with the name of a festival and a year. "This must be why they thought eleven years had passed, I suppose" Patta murmured, turning the page.

Despite what the Hermit wrote, Patta found out the notes were rarely added. Maybe it was because the Hermit didn't really have much interest in writing anything, but it seemed several years passed between each note. From what Patta could guess, they only wrote something when someone they killed had an object that could indicate how much time had passed. Between the pages Patta found documents, newspaper articles, more bracelets, and in one instance, a love letter. The more time passed the more erratic the notes were. At some point it seemed the ink of whatever pen they were using had congealed or something like that.

The notes from that point forward spanned several pages at once, as the Hermit used their fingers to write, forming huge letters. Each page barely had two or three words. "Maybe they broke pens to get to the ink" The ink blotches that filled the pages supported that thought.

'RAINED'

'THE MAN HAD A LETER. I AM LIKE 30 YEARS OLD NOW. MOM WAS THAT OLD WHEN SHE LEFT'

'BURIED ANOTHER. USED CLOTHES TO MEND MINE'

Patta frowned. The notes turned from those simple random sentences into statements that started to worry them.

'BODY HAD AWEIRD GLOWING DOT. IT WAS GREEN. TOOK IT WITH ME'

'GLOWING DOT DOESN'T ALWAYS APPEAR. GOT SIX NOW'

'47 YEARS OLD'

'FEELS STRANGE, LIKE SOMETHING SOFT. CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THOSE, BUT IT IS RELAXING TO WATCH. BEEN STORING IN JARS. GOT NINETEEN'

'I LIKE TO HAVE THE DOTS IN MY HANDS. FEELS WARM'

The Hermit's notebook was the last place where they expected to read about anything related to SOULs. The Hermit never called it that, but the description fit the little facts Patta knew about SOULs. The notes continued, the Hermit kept gathering more and more SOULs. From what Patta could understand it seemed the Hermit couldn't obtain a SOUL from everyone they killed. Patta wasn't sure what determined what conditions let the Hermit obtain a SOUL, but the Hermit couldn't do much other than keep them in jars.

"Uh, Asriel? What can a human do with a SOUL?" Patta asked the next time they saw the monster. Asriel tilted his head, trying to remember everything he knew about human SOULs. It wasn't much, but someone had carved in Waterfall something about that.

"Nothing. Humans can't absorb human SOULs"

Patta nodded and went back to reading the notebook while Asriel and Frisk continued their exploration. So the Hermit really didn't have any use for the SOULs they had gathered beyond keeping them stored. Where were the nineteen SOULs? In one of those wooden structures? Patta continued reading.

'22'

'IT CALMS ME DOWN TO WATCH THE DOTS. I MOVED MY BED TO THE CAVE WITH THE DOTS'

'I THINK IM SISTY'

'ANOTHER ONE BURIED. 48 DOTS GATHERED'

Patta almost couldn't believe what they were reading. Forty-eight human SOULs? And it wasn't over yet. The more time passed, the more incoherent the sentences got from that point onward.

'IM OLD BUT I'M NOT TIRED'

'53 DOTS GATHERED. I'M NOT SURE IF I SHOULD STAY ANY LONGER WITH THOSE'

'WHY IM NOT TIRED'

'MY FINGERS LOOK WEIRD'

'I THINK I DON'T KNOW TO COUNT ANIMORE. MATH SAYS I'M 100 YEARS OLD NOW. IS THAT POSSIBLE'

'I CAN'T SLEEP. I STAY WITH THE JARS ALL THE TIME'

'60 DOTS'

'WHY I AM NOT DEAD YET'

'173 YEARS'

'ANOTHER NEWSPAPER. 184 YEARS'

'I DON'T GET IT'

'I WANT TO DIE I CAN'T DIE. I DON'T GET WHY'

'I DON'T THINK I'M HUMAN ANYMORE'

'WHY AMNOT DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEADEDEADEDA'

The scribbling got incoherent from there on. Patta flipped the pages, finding the Hermit had practically lost the ability to write anything with a modicum of sense. The most recent page had another newspaper piece with the date. Patta took it, starting to feel deeply afraid. It made the Hermit be 368 years old.

The date was from three weeks earlier.

-ooooo-

Asriel had been silent for a while already. He knew he was very close to getting home, and he was starting to get impatient. Frisk wasn't being of much help, too focused on their own worries. "Let's try this one" Asriel said, entering once another cave. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he fearlessly walked as far as he could. This cave was different from the rest, and soon he noticed it.

Its walls were covered in vines and plants, giving the place a livelier look than one would have expected. Roots and rocks formed obstacles, the monster climbed them, getting to the end. Indeed, it was different from the rest, but not because it had the Barrier.

Beyond a few vines there was a large hole on the ground. Asriel carefully approached the edge, peering inside it. The hole went so deep into the mountain Asriel couldn't see the bottom. "This could go all the way into the Underground…" he mused, stepping back from it. There was no way he was going to jump into the hole, he was sure that'd be certain death. "Frisk, you have to see this! This is neato!"

Frisk peered from behind a root. They didn't really dare to walk any further, not being able to see in the dark like Asriel could. "I don't think I should, Azzy…"

"It is a hole! It is huge!"

"Patta wouldn't want us to be in danger. Get over here" Frisk usually wouldn't reject a chance to see something interesting, it was just that the darkness made them a bit nervous. Their immediate thought was that they needed to get used to darkness if they were going to live in the Underground, but they still didn't want to risk falling into the hole Asriel had found.

Asriel walked along the edge of the hole until he confirmed there was no way to descend without risking fatal injury. There was nothing else to do other than leave the cavern and check the next one. He returned to where Frisk was waiting among the roots and vines, but before they could leave Frisk grabbed Asriel's shoulder, stopping him. "Wait! Look over there!" Frisk pointed to what they had seen.

There was a secondary path in the cave, leading to the left. Asriel hadn't seen it, but he couldn't let anything unexplored. The monster approached the way to the new area, seeing what was inside. "Whoa!" he gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing.

It was a chamber, around ten feet wide. In the center there was a pile of cloth and fabric, large enough for anyone to lie down comfortably on it. However, that wasn't what got Asriel's attention. Lining the walls of the chamber there were dozens and dozens of jars. Some were empty, but most of the jars had a small blob. All were heart-shaped, and looked like a strange mix between solid and liquid, and the size was just a bit smaller than his hand. Asriel was mesmerized, he was seeing something he never thought he'd ever see human SOULs.

"Azzy, what is this?" Frisk could see something too. They couldn't see it as clearly as Asriel did, most likely because at the current time they weren't as attuned to magic and concepts such as SOULs as Asriel was. They could see a vague shape, no bigger than a few inches. If it weren't because of the vivid colors of the SOULs then they wouldn't see any of those at all, but even then at least half of the jars didn't seem to contain anything.

Asriel didn't answer immediately. He carefully took one of the jars, feeling the strange magic energy the SOUL emitted. It was tempting to see it closer, but he didn't want to risk absorbing it. It'd require to actually _want_ to absorb the SOUL but in his opinion it was better safe than sorry. Frisk looked into the jar, noticing the light blue dot floating inside. "Golly, this is-Frisk, look! It is a-a-a, it's a SOUL! A real human SOUL!"

"Really?" Frisk narrowed their eyes, trying to see it better. It was fascinating in a way, but somehow they felt…underwhelmed "Do all humans have one of these inside?"

"Th-The SOUL is the culmination of a being! Or something like that. This is what we need to break the Barrier!" Asriel put his ear against the glass, noticing no sound emerged from it. "It doesn't sound like bridge traffic" He also opened the jar and carefully smelled inside "It doesn't smell like grilled vegetables either"

"Should it? Azzy, are you going to take that SOUL with you?" Frisk asked. That got Asriel to snap out of his excitement, taking a more pensive stance.

"…I don't know…here are more SOULs that we could need, but…I don't like the thought of taking these with me…" Asriel's voice trailed off, he was starting to see the problem that was to see all those SOULs right there in the open. Stunned, he closed the jar, grabbed it tighter and spoke slowly, feeling the weight of each of his words. "…Frisk, these were people once, people that were alive and…why are their SOULs here? What happened to all these humans?"

"Anyone who climbs Mt. Ebott goes missing" Frisk said grimly.

"These are the people who went missing?!" Asriel almost dropped the jar. He had a missing person's SOUL right in his hands! "F-Frisk, Patta should know about this. I'll tell him" Asriel made sure he grabbed the jar so he wouldn't drop it and ran back outside, where he found Patta staring blankly at nothing. "Patta, there are human SOULs in there! Many, many SOULs!"

"…I know. The Hermit…they have been gathering SOULs" Patta stood up, still trying to understand the implications of everything they had read. They were pale, feeling like something was scrambling their guts. It was a very nasty sensation "Asriel, are you completely sure a human can't do anything with another person's SOUL?" they noticed the jar Asriel was carrying and distinguished the SOUL inside.

"I-I-I don't know!"

"They were near the SOULs for a very long time. They even had the SOULs in their hands who knows how many times! I think it affected them in some way"

Asriel furrowed his brow and stared at the human SOUL he had brought. "I think SOULs are made of something strange-"

"Then the Hermit may have been in contact with whatever human SOULs are made of" Patta jumped to conclusions, very unsure of it was correct or not "But that is not all: the Hermit is _alive_ "

In that moment Asriel could feel the atmosphere changing. It felt like something heavy and ominous was filling the air, something arcane and impossible for him to understand. The monster could practically feel his fur standing on end, a shiver running down his spine. Frisk arrived in that moment, looking around with apprehension. It seemed their dread was back too. "Patta, we need to leave, _now_ " Asriel said, trying not to start crying out of fear.

"I know…" Patta dropped the notebook. They couldn't feel what Asriel was feeling, but they could clearly sense there was something dangerous nearby "…I know! We're leaving now!" Patta moved faster than they thought they could, pushing Asriel and Frisk to the path that led upwards. Asriel didn't even have time to leave the jar with the human SOUL, he was too busy rushing away with his companions.

It was too late, though. The group had spent too long in that place. The presence that was rapidly approaching was way too close, and the three of them knew it. They all had the same hope: that whatever was getting closer and closer wouldn't hurt them.

It was rather unfortunate those hopes would be shattered immediately.

"Watch out!" Asriel suddenly shouted, pulling Frisk away. Patta didn't even have time to react before something fell from a higher point, piercing the rocks just where Frisk had been standing a second before. It was large, bigger than Patta, and made of a blinding white color. The group froze, staring at the object astonished.

It resembled a giant knife, buried to the hilt in the ground. Asriel was speechless, he could sense it was not a physical knife. It was made of magic, but unlike the magic he had seen from the human's SOULs, this magic was different. It was more akin to the magic of monsters, but it also had an undeniable physical quality that terrified him.

The knife silently exploded in particles, the three of them could see the place where it had been before. It left a deep hole in the stone as if the ground had been no more than butter. "…what was that?!" Patta didn't have the same affinity Asriel had for magic, but they realized too it was different from what they had seen in FIGHTs.

"Don't stop moving!" Frisk was the first one to snap out of their surprise, starting to run away. They didn't get too far away before the person who had used that magic made their presence known. Just like the three of them had felt, they had gotten nearer not too long ago.

Patta knew in that moment that it was no exaggeration. Absolutely no one who dared to try to climb Mt. Ebott returned alive. It was impossible to return alive when _that_ was dwelling in it. The surroundings darkened immediately, the familiar FIGHT environment present around them.

* * *

 _The Hermit…Chara…I'm not completely sure how human SOULs work, but it seems there is a component in them, something that allows the SOULs to persist after death. In most of the timelines it gets called 'Determination'. If I had to guess…_

 _…the constant contact with the SOULs – **at least a century** of having it nearby for hours, and even touching them - affected the Hermit's own SOUL. That person was not **truly** **alive** anymore. They were no more than a SOUL filled to the brim with determination, refusing to let its shell die. The SOUL is the epitome of one's existence, in a way it could be say their body is moving through the motions fueled with hate towards everything and everyone, hate nurtured for a long, long time. I suppose that is why the Hermit could use magic consciously, too. Magic attacks come directly from one's SOUL, and for a human to be able to use them to a level that creates wanton physical destruction…there must be something _ very wrong _with their SOUL._

 _It is confusing, and I may be wrong, but that is the conclusion I got to._

* * *

 ***The Hermit attacks!**

 ***Something is wrong**

The Hermit really was not human anymore. They hadn't sprouted any physical abnormalities nor turned into a monster, physically they were still human. However, their hunched over posture, the emaciated complexion, the way the skin stuck to the bones in their arms, hands and face, the tattered clothes hanging from their famished body, the fabric being a mix not only from their original ones but from those belonging to the missing people, the way they moved like they were struggling against their own body…

…it all showed the Hermit was beyond any comprehension or help. There was also no sense on trying to be rational or on trying to engage in conversation with them. The Hermit was there only for a reason: to continue their performance as the curse of Mt. Ebott.

But what could Asriel, Patta or Frisk do now?

They didn't have many options. Defending themselves was impossible for any of them. Frisk had no way to fight other than their fists, and that would be a suicidal action. Patta still had the baseball bat, but approaching for a physical fight was a huge risk. Asriel had magic, and could try to attack from a certain distance, but he doubted he'd be able to stop the Hermit in any way. It'd be no more than a puny distraction. All in all…

 ***Mercy - Flee**

…running away was the only option.


	31. And Then It All Came Crashing Down

Running for your life really puts things in perspective. Nobody in their wildest dreams would have thought they would be running up a mountain with an almost-four-centuries-old person chasing them, throwing large magic knives at them. The three friends had been running in silence, the only sound being the sound of their panting and attempts to regain their breath. And while Asriel and Frisk were immensely scared, Patta could only feel the adrenaline and the wish to stay alive. They weren't exactly 'scared'. That is what Patta didn't really understand.

Some would have thought that the Hermit's pursuit would be related to the traumatic memories that had assaulted Patta not too long before, when they had started climbing the mountain, but somehow Patta didn't feel the same fear they had experienced before. That was mindboggling, but there was no time to think too deep about it.

The Hermit's continuous assault was horrifyingly strong. Rows of knives materialized mere feet away, forming spirals and lines that immediately tore through the air to try to strike at the three of them. It was truly a miracle none of them had been hit by any of the knives the Hermit had conjured. If any of their SOULs got hit, it was very likely death would be the expected consequence. The danger was even greater in Asriel's case, as his body was directly linked to his SOUL. Something as simple as getting grazed by a knife would be enough to kill him. The humans were in slightly less danger, but not by that much. The physical quality the knives had would cause grievous wounds, it wasn't much better than Asriel's situation.

Asriel felt like his lungs were going to explode. He wasn't in bad shape – walking from side to side of the Kingdom of Monsters at least twice in a weekly basis did wonders for one's physical state – but the constant pursuit and the steep mountain were starting to take a toll on him. He was starting to run slower, gripping the jar with the human SOUL. Frisk didn't seem to be faring much better. The Hermit, noticing the human child slowing down, aimed at them. Frisk threw themselves onto the rocks, getting some scrapes and bruises instead of a severe wound to the torso. The fall got them gasping for breath, though. Patta reacted quickly, grabbing Frisk's arm and brusquely pulling them so they started running again. Frisk, still in pain from the fall, protested loudly, startled by the sudden action. "I'm okay!" they managed to scream, but Patta ignored it. Better to be safe before apologizing, that is what they thought.

The chase continued for a few minutes, but for the three it seemed like an eternity, and the Hermit still showed no signs of being tired or wanting to stop. Bits of rock and clay flew at every strike of the knives, the dust falling onto Asriel and his companions. Some of that dust got into Patta's eyes, making them stumble blindly. "Patta!" Asriel, who had been not too far ahead of Patta, stopped and acted quickly. Puny distractions were better than nothing right now.

Balls of magic fire were aimed towards the Hermit, but they didn't hurt them not even a little bit. It was enough to slow them down for a moment, just enough for Patta to recover and continue. Frisk had gotten ahead, deviating from the established rocky path and entering a new forested area. "Keep doing that, Asriel!" Patta ordered. Asriel nodded, trying to conserve his energy, but it was very difficult to keep running and attack behind him. The Hermit wasn't affected at all by the fire, but during Asriel's attacks they took a more defensive stance, using their knives to block the fire. That was better than having those knives hurtled at them, at least.

The little advantage gained was used by Asriel and Patta to dive between the trees. Frisk was hidden behind a trees, peeking and breathing heavily, but when they saw their friends had managed to get to where they were the child waved, getting their attention.

"We can't keep running…forever…" Frisk said with difficulty, leaning against a tree, but Patta didn't let them rest. With some luck the trees would help stall the Hermit, but it was better to not to push their luck. Asriel agreed with them. This was Mt. Ebott, the Hermit's turf. It'd be extremely difficult to know where to run, so he said it. It was matter of time before the Hermit succeeded. Maybe there was something that could be done about that.

"Let's try hiding in a cave!" the monster suggested.

"What cave?! We left the caves behind already!" Patta shouted, looking around to try to find any path they could follow. All they could see was trees. That shut up Asriel, feeling like Patta wasn't in mood for any suggestions. He suppressed his annoyance in favor to continuing running for his life.

It didn't take long for anyone to find out the trees weren't very effective in stopping the Hermit. While they couldn't move very well, those large magic knives still existed. Patta could hear those knives colliding against the trees. The noise of logs being cut and of trees crashing against each other felt like a giant wave about to fall onto them. At least it was an incentive to continue running as fast as possible.

When Asriel turned around to take a look at the knives, a small stray blade flew through the air, aimed at him. It struck the jar in his hands, shattering it in pieces and dispersing the human SOUL inside. Asriel jumped back in surprise, feeling the cuts from the glass on his fingers and his palms.

The knives rebounded between the trees, getting stuck on the wood and on the soil. The children, being smaller and overall nimbler, stayed near the ground, but Patta didn't have that advantage. A particularly large knife blasted through the foliage, obliterating the trees and aimed towards Patta. They had just enough time to move towards a side to avoid a fatal wound, but they weren't quick enough to not to be hurt at all. The blade whizzed through the air, cutting deep through Patta's right shoulder. Patta didn't even have enough time to scream in pain before the hilt crashed against them, the impact making them fall to the ground.

"Patta!" Frisk screamed. The children stopped immediately, extremely upset, and went back to where Patta had fallen down. While Frisk tried to get the adult to stand up Asriel, gathering strength from his anger at seeing Patta hurt, decided to try to make the Hermit back off.

Asriel focused immediately, forcing himself to use his strongest attack. He hadn't completely mastered the use of his stars, but in this situation he thought it'd be his best chance. Star after star was thrown towards the direction the knives had come from, each one fragmenting into smaller stars. It was doubtful any of those stars would be effective, but it was possible that, just to avoid getting hit by any, the Hermit would slow down.

Just a few seconds were needed for Patta to stand up, cradling their right arm. Their body was immobilizing it involuntarily to avoid the intense pain that'd happen on the shoulder if the arm moved, but it was futile. Merely running was enough to cause great pain to Patta, but right now that was the least of their problems. The adrenaline was enough to allow Patta keep running despite the pain. "Asriel, move!" Patta shouted, Asriel obeying immediately. The knives had stopped, and the Hermit was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't mean they were safe. It was better to not to stop moving. Patta's SOUL had suffered no damage from the Hermit's attack, but that wouldn't matter at all if the body was too hurt to continue living. The wound was very slowly sapping their HP, the longer it went untreated, the more dangerous it'd be.

The moment of respite was important. The three continued running, soon reaching what seemed to be one of the larger paths on Mt. Ebott, just a little below. They were standing on a ledge, it took a moment to descend from it to the path. Asriel had the feeling it was the path he and his friends would have traversed if Frisk hadn't found that alternate trail. Maybe they all would somehow managed to avoid the Hermit if they had stayed on that road instead of exploring new trails. It was no time to think about how things could have gone much better, though. "Where to?" he asked, looking towards both ends and immediately trotting uphill. It seemed like the logical choice. Patta and Frisk seemed to agree without directly replying to his question, as they followed Asriel.

It was easier to run on the road than through the forest, but the feeling of being watched continued. The Hermit still couldn't be seen anywhere, no matter how much anyone stared at the trees lining the sides of the road. It didn't stop the Hermit from attacking, though.

The blades were materializing from the sky, falling onto the ground and creating deep holes on the clay. The drizzle had softened the ground, although the leaves over their heads stopped most of the drops. The road seemed endless, although the fact it was uphill gave an illusion of progress. After a while once another problem arose.

This time it was a bifurcation in the path. One went to the left, seemingly a slope towards the base of the mountain, while the other curved to the right and continued upwards. The three stopped for a moment. "To the right!" Asriel suggested, but before he could move in that direction a knife crossed the air towards him. Frisk, acting quickly, pushed him out of the way, barely avoiding the blade themselves. It wasn't long before Patta saw in the distance the Hermit, slowly dragging their feet.

The Hermit raised their arm languidly, several knives appearing on a row over their head, aiming towards where the children were standing. Patta was away from the line of fire, standing near the slope, Asriel and Frisk were the ones in danger. The children didn't even have time to agree to what side to move, Asriel stumbled back, ending near Patta, while Frisk jumped forward and towards the second path. The onslaught of knives didn't stop, more appearing out of thin air and piercing the trees between the roads, forming a wall nobody dared to try to pass through. "Frisk, are you okay?" Patta asked, trying to find a hole in the wall of knives.

"I'm fine! Run!" Frisk replied before the sound of feet pattering on the wet ground resonated. It was obvious Frisk had just moved away, running to the upwards path.

"W-Wait! Frisk, wait for-!" Patta really didn't like the idea of getting separated from even one of the children, but the Hermit wasn't willing to even give a choice. With Frisk gone, they were now aiming towards Patta and Asriel. The knives weren't added to the wall, instead starting to get closer and closer to the adult.

"Over here!" Asriel had advanced a bit before turning around and calling for Patta. The adult turned their head around, stumbling back just enough to be safe from the knives for the moment, clearly torn between the feeling of responsibility they had towards Frisk and the need for survival. The idea of leaving Frisk stranded somewhere in the mountain and in mortal danger was something they wouldn't ever take willingly, but right now there was no other option. The Hermit was forcing their hand, and Patta knew it.

Besides there was another child they couldn't leave alone right now. It was true Patta couldn't do much to protect Asriel right now, in fact, it hadn't gone unnoticed to them Asriel had done more protecting in the last hour than they had done. It was almost humiliating, in their opinion, to depend on the monster in such a dangerous situation, when they were the adult, the one who was supposed to be take the lead and take Asriel and Frisk to safety, yet so far all they had done was get wounded and bumble around.

Patta felt like they were useless.

The few seconds of hesitation may have been all the Hermit needed to get close enough, that is what Asriel thought. Just when he was about to return to Patta to try to snap them out of it the adult shook their head and descended the slope to where he was. "Let's get going. We'll look for Frisk later"

"They'll be okay. I'm sure they will…" Asriel said, although partly it was to convince himself Frisk would be okay. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried at all.

"Do you know if they know to fight?"

"I once talked to them a bit about that. They won't back off if there's no other option" That is something Frisk had said back at the inn while Patta was planning the return to Celia's house. They had said that to show Asriel their support, and Asriel had to admit those words were partly why he felt ready to defend himself. He was sure that, if the worst situation possible happened, Frisk wouldn't go down without fighting…even if they wouldn't be able to do a thing.

The slope was steep but thankfully short and, although the drizzle had stopped by now, the dirt and mud had the potential to be a problem. It didn't take long for Asriel to trip and roll down until the end of the slope Patta hurried to help him, but Asriel wasn't hurt, just a bit sore and covered in mud. "I-I'm okay" he said as soon as Patta got to him. Asriel tensed, as if readying himself for more of those knives to try to pierce him again, but nothing happened. "Where is the Hermit?"

"I don't know, just stand up!" Patta said, extending their left hand. They and Asriel continued their way as fast as they could, but the lack of attacks got Asriel very worried. That meant the Hermit was pursuing Frisk, didn't it? Asriel really hoped he was right, that Frisk would be okay.

The lack of attacks incoming at them didn't go unnoticed to Patta. Ten minutes later they decided to stop to rest for a bit. It was risky, but the possibility of the Hermit being far enough to let them rest for a few minutes was tempting. Patta was starting to feel the severity of the deep cut on their shoulder, carefully pressing onto it to try to stop the bleeding. "That looks really bad, Patta…"

"I think I'm okay, don't worry about it" Patta tried to seem confident, but that was difficult when one was in pain. Asriel didn't believe it not even for a second. Patta looked awful. Running through a forest left other minor wounds on them, their clothes had gashes and there large cut on their forehead "At least you are unharmed, Asriel. That is great"

Asriel shrugged noncommittally. It really was fortunate monsters didn't bleed. His sweater hadn't fared much better than Patta's clothes, but other than that it did _look_ like he hadn't suffered any wounds so far. Asriel hadn't said a word about all the scratches he had suffered in the last hour, nor about the cuts on his hands from the shattered jar. Although he was much sorer than he had said and the pads on his palm and fingers stung and caused constant pain, he endured it without a single complaint.

Not too long after that the two of them continued running away, although a bit slower than before to try to conserve energy. The road had formed a U of sorts, now the downward trek was over and now it was time to go upwards again. Unfortunately, it seemed that the relatively calmer times were over. A knife falling a few feet behind them showed that. When Patta saw it they felt a sudden burst of terror, although it was quickly buried under the need of having to get away as soon as possible. If the Hermit was here then that meant…Patta forced themselves to not to think about it, instead focusing on once again trying to be as far as possible from the Hermit.

It was possible the Hermit wanted to make sure none of their targets would get away, forming a wall behind Patta and Asriel and forcing them to run to avoid getting impaled. During all that more knives sprung from between the trees, tiring them out with the constant need to dodge all attempts to end their lives.

There had been no other possible paths neither they or Asriel could follow, it had all been a long road. They hadn't realized what it meant for the Hermit to have gone for Frisk first, but that soon was obvious when they reached the cliff that was at the end of the road.

The Hermit had known this path led to a dead end. Of course they'd go for Frisk first, they had been on the right road. There was no possibility of Patta and Asriel escaping.

While Asriel tried again to keep the Hermit at bay, Patta examined the cliff, trying to see if there was any chance to descend, but it was impossible to do it safely. The bottom of the cliff was a long way down, and there was no chance to cling to the rocks to get there. The cliff formed a concave wall, around fifty-feet tall. "We are cornered!" Patta blurted out. Asriel, whose attempted walls of fire had gotten the Hermit to be defensive again, didn't turn around.

"W-w-we can't die here! We were so close! There must be something-"

"What can we do?! There is no way out, we can't jump down from here"

Jump down…maybe that wasn't as outlandish a possibility as it sounded. Asriel felt something nagging in his mind, it was more like a feeling that maybe it wasn't all as hopeless as it seemed. "That is it! We can do that!"

"What?!" Patta's first instinct was to go against that idea. It was ridiculous! But Asriel seemed sure about that seemingly ridiculous idea. The monster slowly backed off until he was near Patta, all the while keeping the barrage of magic fire attacks towards the Hermit.

"I was up on that tree the day I met you! I was in danger and when I fell down I-I-I-" Asriel tried to think of the right words. He was sure there was a word for that, but he didn't know it "I flew for a moment!"

"…oh, that is right. I remember that" Patta had vague memories of that "Are you sure you can do it again?"

"…no" Asriel admitted. He was already to Patta's side, there was no more space, and sooner or later the Hermit would stop taking a defensive stance. Patta and he were vulnerable, that'd undoubtedly mean death "B-But it's worth a try! We don't have other options!"

Patta looked at the Hermit. "Certain death" Then they looked at the bottom of the cliff "Not so certain death. Fine! We're jumping"

That didn't make Asriel as happy as the monster thought he'd be. After all, it wasn't guaranteed to work. He didn't even know how it happened back at that first day! All he knew is that he had instinctively not wanted to get hurt, and that a second later he was falling much slower, levitating leisurely. Could he do it again? He didn't know. All he wanted was to get back home, to find Frisk, to _survive._

"Grab onto me!" Asriel commanded.

"Are you kidding me?" Patta spluttered before grabbing the back of Asriel's sweater, pulling Asriel up and breaking his concentration. Asriel was forced to stop attacking, the fire on his claws extinguishing immediately " _You_ grab onto me, and don't let go" they ordered, that was more logical and Asriel realized it. The monster child obeyed, clinging to Patta's torso as strongly as he could. Patta could feel Asriel trembling, although he had been fighting not even five seconds before it was undeniable Asriel was very scared. Patta could feel Asriel's claws digging through the fabric and grazing their skin.

Without saying another word Patta hugged Asriel tightly with their good arm and turned around, leaping forward and beyond the edge of the cliff. Knives soared through the air, crossing the air where Patta had been standing just a moment before. Asriel's weight made Patta fall onto their side instead of feet first, so they twisted around, facing the incoming ground and making sure Asriel was grabbing onto their coat, closer to their back. They didn't even realize they had done it, it was likely that, at some level, they wanted to heighten Asriel's chances of survival if levitating wasn't an option. They closed their eyes involuntarily, preparing themselves for impact.

Asriel had closed his eyes too, just after Patta jumped, but that was more because he was focusing. There wasn't much time. His mind went blank, but he knew very well he wanted to live, and not only him, but Patta and Frisk too. The intense wish to survive welled up in him, and he clung tighter to Patta. He didn't immediately start floating like he did before, Patta was too heavy for that, but the fall did slow down. That, combined with the softened soil thanks to the recent drizzle, made survival happen.

Patta crashed against the soft ground, feeling their breath knocked out of them. Something cracked in their chest, Patta swore they heard that sound, and the fall didn't do any favors to the shoulder wound. They wanted to scream in pain, but they didn't have any breath for that. They had never experienced so much pain at once. "Are you okay? Patta!" Asriel seemed to be fine, the fall hadn't hurt him at all. He was now trying to drag Patta under the cliff, oblivious to Patta's new wound. "I'm sorry! It was-why did I-please, be okay!" he was blaming himself for the fall, even though there hadn't really been other options. Patta weakly got on their knees, crawling the rest of the way. The convex shape of the cliff would mean they should be safe from the Hermit, as they wouldn't be able to see neither Asriel nor Patta.

The two huddled against the rocks, listening carefully. They couldn't hear anything, at least until a knife fell and plunged on the ground, just a few feet away. Another fell nearby immediately, then another, until the whole area was covered in knives. Asriel and Patta could only stare. It took a minute before all the knives disintegrated. There was no more noise.

Asriel didn't dare to get out of that temporal shelter to see if the Hermit was gone. For all he knew they were on top of the cliff, staring and waiting for him or Patta to walk out. Patta and Asriel waited for almost fifteen minutes, Patta breathing with difficulty. They felt they had one or two ribs broken, and if they remembered right, that was very dangerous. They didn't dare to inhale deeper, in fear of puncturing their lungs.

"P-Patta, are you okay?" Asriel asked at some point. Patta looked terrible, bruised and battered, and didn't even seem the strength to complain about it. Patta waved their left hand, trying not to cry.

"…no. I am…I'm not fine…" they wheezed. Asriel winced, shaking his head. He felt very guilty, believing himself to be the cause of the worst part of those wounds. When he tried to apologize Patta looked at him "It's not your fault. I think…you saved our lives…" At least for now. Patta did feel _awful_.

-ooooo-

After the fifteen minutes passed Patta shakily stood up, dragging their feet and getting out of the cliff's shadow. They weren't in condition for long trekking up a mountain, but they weren't also going to sit around and die. Besides they wanted to look for Frisk. They hoped they were okay. Asriel wasn't able to do much to help Patta, either. He was just a child, much shorter than Patta, it wasn't like he'd be able to support him. The most he was able to do was get a long and sturdy stick for Patta to lean on, which they took gratefully.

* * *

 _…I admit the first twenty or so times I didn't even dare to rewatch this part of the timeline. I refused to look at these painful moments, because I wanted to spare myself from reminiscing about them._

* * *

The place they had fallen in was shaped like a bowl, the earth forming a large depression on the ground. There was one single way out, leading to places unknown. It was going to be a grueling trek, but Patta didn't care. All they wanted was to find Frisk. How to do that? Would they even be able to find the main path and get to the bifurcation where they had separated? Asriel wasn't saying anything, immensely worried about Patta and Frisk. He was keeping a close eye on Patta, expecting them to fall down at any moment. The way it took them quite a while to ascend to level terrain showed how weak they were.

There were no signs of the Hermit. Asriel couldn't feel them nearby, and it was unlikely they were wrong. The Hermit's terrifying presence – undoubtedly their irreversibly sick SOUL – wasn't around, and while Asriel felt very relieved to know there was no immediate danger right now, he feared this meant they were looking for Frisk too…if the worst hadn't happened already. "…Aaaaagh!" Asriel groaned loudly, as if he hoped to drown out those nagging negative thoughts. That got Patta to ask him if he really was okay, if he was wounded. Asriel hurried to say he was okay, but didn't tell Patta what he feared.

 _I still remember how I felt for quite a long time. I don't have anything here other than my own thoughts and all these timelines I have influenced, and my guilt was very strong…I told myself many things for a long time._

The main path was found after fifteen minutes of walking through the mountain. Patta spent all that time wracking their brain for a solution, a way for everything to be okay, but they couldn't think any good plans. They knew the three of them had a blade over their necks, so to say, and no way to solve it. Maybe it could be possible to at least fulfill the reason they had crossed half of the planet with a monster… "Asriel, listen to me. I want you…to go ahead and…leave me behind"

"What?!" Asriel's eyes widened. He shouted that single word at full volume, almost furious Patta had the gall to suggest such a thing. He stood right in front of Patta's path, he wasn't going to let Patta continue walking until they dropped that suggestion. Patta ignored Asriel's clear outrage and spoke with faint voice, wheezing from the lack of breath. They were convinced the broken ribs meant they couldn't breathe like normal.

* * *

 _If I had been smarter. If I had been quicker. If I had been more assertive. If I had been less cowardly. If I had been more reliable. If I had said something. If I had noticed something._

 _…_

 _If I had been better._

* * *

"…get to the top of the moun…the mountain. Return to your…home. I'll find Frisk, and help them get away from…from here. You leave it to me, and go"

"I'm not going to leave you behind. You can't do this alone!"

* * *

 _And even though I now know it was something I couldn't have changed, I still feel I could have done more._

* * *

"…and…and what if the Hermit returns? I can't do anything, and you won't…be able to hold them away f-forever. Get…get away while you have the chance"

"I won't!" Asriel said firmly. To him it was unconceivable to leave Patta behind in such state. It was said with such a firm tone Patta realized it was useless to argue. Instead they laughed hoarsely, sounding more as if someone had just punched them in the gut.

* * *

 _Don't get me wrong, I still feel terrible about everything that happened, but after so long…the pain turns dull, you know?_

* * *

"You…you are too nice for your own good, Asriel…" they said but didn't insist. It had taken them a good while to gather enough resolve to tell Asriel that. They really didn't want to leave Asriel up to his own luck, but they felt now they couldn't achieve the goal of taking Asriel to the Barrier. It had been difficult to accept it, and now the monster had refused to follow it. They were so tired now they didn't have the energy to argue.

Another ten minutes later Asriel and Patta got to the bifurcation again. The destroyed trees and the thin trenches on the ground showed this was the correct place. As soon as they got to that place, Asriel and Patta started walking faster. They still hadn't said much to each other; the atmosphere was tense. Both had been too busy keeping their minds busy to avoid thinking about anything remotely negative, and Asriel also had tasked himself with staying alert to any sign the Hermit was approaching or nearby. It wasn't going hard to know it, nothing else could make him feel that foreboding pressure in his chest. It had also been tacitly agreed calling for Frisk was dangerous, as they could get the Hermit's attention. All the two could do for now is keep their eyes and ears open for any sign of Frisk.

* * *

 _Remember what I told you at the beginning? This timeline has a lot of anomalies. You have seen a lot of them, compared to every other timeline in existence._

* * *

It took a while of slow and difficult walking uphill to find something. There was splatter of fresh blood on the ground. It wasn't much, but it was clear someone had gotten wounded at that point. When Asriel saw it he gasped and immediately started running, leaving Patta behind. Patta couldn't do the same, but they did hasten their pace. "They are okay…they must be okay…believe in them, believe they are… okay…" Patta murmured over and over to keep themselves from breaking down.

"Frisk! Frisk! Say something! Where are you?!" Asriel shouted at the top of his lungs while he was running. There was a faint trail of blood. The injured person had clearly kept their wounds covered to avoid bleeding too much, which gave Asriel some hope. He didn't know much about human biology, or how about the whole blood thing worked – it seemed that for humans the veins and arteries didn't cauterize and heal when they were wounded – but he did suppose losing a lot of that red liquid humans had couldn't be good. If that was what happened to Frisk then…Asriel's eyes started watering, those scary thoughts breaking like a dam and filling his head. He ran faster.

* * *

 _There is this strange power determined people can have. Usually it is the person with the most Determination. I won't go into much detail about it._

* * *

Patta felt their own bad feelings increasing just from hearing Asriel's desperate calls for Frisk. Slowly, bit by bit, a familiar feeling started filling them. They identified it immediately, it was the very same level of terror that had invaded them at the beginning of the trip up Mt. Ebott. It was that same fear, the unbearable crushing despair. This time it didn't feel like a mere memory, though.

It was real.

* * *

 _The last big anomaly…was that Frisk didn't have that power. I think the Hermit had it._

* * *

"…nooooo…" they would have yowled that if they had the energy for it. They had finally got to a point where they could see Asriel, and the monster child wasn't alone. He was clinging to someone who was lying on the ground, and he was crying as loudly as he could. Patta, refusing to accept what they were seeing, dropped the stick they had used as support and hurried to get to Asriel. They hadn't been mistaken. It really was Frisk, and it was too late.

Frisk was dead.

Patta felt the overwhelming weight of the situation crushing them. Without realizing what they were doing Patta stumbled right until they were to their side, staring at Frisk all the time, and fell to their knees. Their mind was blank, there was nothing they could say. They could only stare.

Asriel had sensed Patta had arrived but he ignored him. His grief was too strong, he didn't care he was in middle of a muddy path on a mountain, very close to his home. He didn't care that in that moment there was something plain wrong roaming somewhere on that same mountain, and that it'd be dangerous if it came back again. All he wanted was for what he was seeing to not to be true, for Frisk to not to be lying there and to stand up like nothing happened. He wanted his best friend back, he wanted to show Frisk the Underground and have them as his best friend for years, decades…

* * *

 _I can't say it with certainty, but it seems if Frisk hadn't been with us everything would have gone like it should have._

* * *

He felt it was his fault this had happened. Patta felt the same. Two people, blaming themselves and regretting everything they had done that could have led to Frisk's death and keeping it to themselves.

Asriel had no idea how long he spent crying. The sun had started to beat down onto the clay and over him, and his eyes hurt. He felt exhausted and wanted the day to end and forget anything had happened. Patta hadn't moved at all, but their stare wasn't blank anymore, it was full of pain. They hadn't said a word yet, and it looked like they didn't want to. They were grieving too. Patta hadn't been as close to Frisk as Asriel was, but they had grown to like that child and had wanted nothing more than the best for them. They felt they had failed as an adult and as a person, and were convinced there was nothing they could do that would serve as penance for this.

* * *

 _Asriel would have returned home, I would have survived and left Mt. Ebott, none of us would have ever encountered the Hermit…and after a few decades monsterkind would break the Barrier and go free, humanity receiving them with open arms thanks to what Asriel sparked when he was over the surface, it seems. He would have been the King of All Monsters, and those who remembered him on TV would have vouched for him. Everyone would have worked to achieve a new age of peace, living in harmony with monsterkind._

* * *

The monster child sat down, he had been kneeling all this time and his legs felt like they were going to fall down. He was going to look away when he noticed something glowing faintly over Frisk's chest. His attention piqued, Asriel dried his tears and looked a bit closer. It was unmistakable. After having seen those in jars not too long before, he recognized the shape and the intense red color. Undoubtedly, it was Frisk's SOUL. The Hermit hadn't taken it yet.

"…Patta?" Asriel sniffled and tried to get their attention, but Patta didn't reply. Asriel stood up and approached, shaking slightly Patta's left shoulder. The monster stumbled over his own words. He didn't mean to ask anything complicated or banal, but Asriel felt like he was trying to ignore what had happened. What he meant was to ask what they should do, he needed Patta's guidance "What are we going to do now?" Patta didn't answer "Patta, please, we…we need to…" Asriel went silent, a short burst of grief shutting him down again. He didn't have the time to start crying again when that heavy and menacing presence started appearing again.

* * *

 _This timeline was perfect. It was ready to create a wonderful era; everything that happened was going to lead into that direction. That is why I don't understand why everything went so wrong. IT was not something I did, but then…what caused it? What made Asriel tell Frisk about Celia leaving the city, or if that was necessary to happen, why did Frisk lose all hope?_

* * *

Asriel stood up immediately, furious and balling up his fists, his claws digging into his fur. The person who had killed Frisk was getting nearer, but although Asriel felt so angry…he couldn't muster the intention to hurt the Hermit or anything similar to that. Right now all he wanted was to protect Frisk's remains, make sure the Hermit didn't take their SOUL. Patta ignored Asriel and didn't notice the Hermit approaching.

The Hermit was there, a hundred feet away. Asriel could see them clearly, they had a jar in their hands. They really had gone away just to retrieve a jar to put Frisk's SOUL in, and now they had found the other two people on the mountain, right to Frisk's side. Their expression didn't change, but they started to languidly approach. Asriel had the feeling once they were close enough it would mean the end for both him and Patta.

* * *

 _It is because of all this that I'm trying to create the best future. That is all I want to see before I let myself die once and for all, I want to know there is a timeline where everything is okay._

* * *

He couldn't let it happen, that is something he had no doubts about. It led to one single action, born from that determination. It was a decision taken hurriedly, something that, if he had the time to think it twice, he may not have done it. It didn't matter right then what the consequences would be or what would happen, all Asriel cared about was about protecting both Frisk's SOUL and Patta's life from the Hermit.

* * *

 _A future where no one has to die, and monsters go free._

* * *

That was why he immediately wrapped his hands around the red floating heart, wishing with all his being to be able to protect what was dear to him. Merely touching a human SOUL isn't enough; the monster must have a sincere wish to actually take it.

And so Asriel absorbed Frisk's SOUL.

* * *

 _…hey, tell me something. Was it you? Did you…have anything to do with what happened? The way you introduced yourself to me...that kind of told me you had something to do with this. Is this your fault?_

No.

 _…fine. Keep watching. Only 26 hours are left._

* * *

 **Tag change: Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings - Major Character Death**


	32. Not What He Expected

Monsters can absorb human SOULs. That allowed them to gain a lot of magical power, reaching unbelievable levels. Their physical endurance also received a boost, their bodies gaining a level of resistance almost no normal monster could achieve. While their bodies would still be mostly composed of magic, being attacked wouldn't mean direct blows to the SOUL, which was what made monsters so fragile. That was what humans were afraid of: the fact creatures as weak as monsters could achieve such levels of strength by taking human SOULs.

The transformation once the human SOUL was absorbed wasn't anything to behold. It was more on the grotesque side, and thankfully Patta didn't witness it. They did feel there was something abnormal going on, so they broke out of their stupor to see what was going on. They noticed Asriel wasn't near Frisk's body anymore, and looked for him. "…what…?" they murmured when they saw what had happened to Asriel.

He wasn't completely unrecognizable, but there had undoubtedly been changes. He wasn't as short as before, in fact he was now as tall as Patta, but it wasn't like the child had suddenly grown into an adult. It was an awkward state, looking as if Asriel's growth had suddenly stopped in middle of the process, most likely because of the unstable nature of a monster SOUL having absorbed a human SOUL. It was an unsettling sight. Lanky, with horns curving to the back of his head, Asriel stood there, glaring at the Hermit, who was now standing completely still, as if assessing this new challenge. It seemed both were waiting to see what the other would do.

Asriel stood up straight, flexing his fingers and staring directly at the Hermit. He could feel a pleasant warmness in his SOUL, and in a way, he felt comforted despite Frisk's death. Asriel sensed a second presence inside him, as if he had gained a second conscience, and it was echoing his own emotions in that moment.

Patta wasn't moving, their eyes going back at forth between Asriel's changed form and the Hermit. They were almost afraid of saying anything, as if that were going to break the delicate tension that was hanging in the air.

After what seemed like a very long time the Hermit made their move. They raised their hand, obviously going to do another one of their attacks with the magic knives, but Asriel didn't allow it. As soon as the Hermit started moving, Asriel reacted, moving at such speed Patta wasn't sure they had seen correctly.

The changed monster raised both hands, aiming with his palms towards the Hermit, and reaffirmed his will to make the attacker back off. Spires of crackling fire emerged from the ground in middle of the path, forming a wall between the Hermit and Asriel. Patta fell on their back, astonished by the sudden fire, and waited for the unbearable heat to get where they were lying. The heat never arrived, though. Despite the size and intensity of the fire, it didn't emit any heat. It was a purely defensive move, made to dissuade the Hermit from advancing.

It was obvious that, despite the physical change, despite Frisk's death, and despite the bits of emotional maturity Asriel had acquired during those four days over the surface, at the core that monster was still Asriel Dreemurr, the kind child who didn't want to harm anyone if there were other options, not even the inhumane being who had murdered his best friend.

Asriel lowered his hands but the fire didn't extinguish, instead increasing in brightness. The wall of fire thickened and extended among the trees and over the road, making sure to not to leave any possible ways for the Hermit or their attacks to reach Asriel or Patta. The Hermit, momentarily stunned by the magic fire Asriel had put on the way, formed a large blade and aimed where they had last seen Asriel, launching it through the air as far as they could. It didn't last long.

As soon as the knife made contact with the fire, the knife exploded and disintegrated, repelled by the power of Asriel's magic. The Hermit formed a few more blades, but the result was the same. Asriel at the other side of the wall of fire didn't even notice what was going on; the Hermit's attacks hadn't disturbed the fire at all, from what he could see. Completely outclassed, the Hermit slinked away without looking back.

It hadn't even been a FIGHT. Asriel was by no means invincible, and anyone with enough stubbornness could manage to kill him, but right now that didn't matter to Asriel. All he wanted was to protect, and he had achieved it. Feeling the Hermit's foreboding presence getting away, Asriel let himself relax but didn't dispel the fire. He stared at his hands and quickly looked all over his body, marveling at how much absorbing Frisk's SOUL had changed him physically. "Golly…" he murmured, almost unable to believe it. It was not a pleasant sensation, suddenly being in a body he couldn't identify as his, but that was surely a matter of getting used to it. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to keep Frisk's SOUL forever, was it? He didn't know for the moment how to do it, but at some point he wanted to return to how he was before.

Once he was sure the Hermit wouldn't return he made the wall of fire disappear. Nothing on the mountain was burned or charred; it was as if nothing had happened. Asriel returned to where Patta was lying on the ground, staring at the sky. "Are you okay?" he asked. Patta looked very pale.

"…is that…really you?" Patta inquired, focusing on the strange monster. Asriel showed an easygoing smile and moved his hand to scratch the back of his head, bashful, just for his hand to crash against one of his curved horns. Surprised by that, Asriel fidgeted for a moment before settling with a shrug.

"I think I am! This is weird" It wasn't really the time to tell Patta Frisk was in his SOUL.

"…you look…odd, kid. I liked your other form more" Patta managed to smile hesitantly, feeling calmer. It really was Asriel, they felt his usual warmness in his voice. It was true his voice now sounded deeper, and Patta had a hard time matching it to the child they had befriended, but it was definitely him.

"Can you stand up?"

"I don't think I can" they replied. It was true; they felt too weak to do it. Asriel, starting to feel alarmed again, focused on Patta's SOUL. There it was, as red as it could be, but Patta's HP had decreased a lot.

 **6/26**

"P-Patta, we need to get going" Asriel crouched and carefully tried to get Patta to stand up. It took a while, Patta had lost a lot of blood already and the wounds they already had made it all much harder, but soon they were standing, having to support their weight against Asriel. Patta had once again gone silent, their eyes starting to take a vacant stare. Asriel started to feel fear again, understanding the possibility of his other close human friend dying on that mountain, but forced himself to calm down, even though he noticed Patta's HP had descended once another number.

There wasn't much time for hesitation. Asriel looked towards the top of Mt. Ebott, then to the bottom. Patta wasn't going to resist enough for him to be taken to the bottom of the mountain, and even if they did survive until that point, it was unlikely help would arrive in time. Then what other option was there? Asriel could only think one other option. _"Patta isn't going to like it"_ Frisk's voice resounded in Asriel's psyche, startling him for a moment. It was going to take some time to get used to that.

Still, like it or not, it was necessary. "Resist, Patta. Don't die, please, don't die!" Asriel pleaded, unsure if Patta could even listen to him. He had been about to start walking uphill when he saw Frisk's dead body. Feeling the pangs of grief that were feeling him, Asriel held back his tears and picked up his friend's body. There was no way he could just leave it there on the mountain. The second occupant of Asriel's new form didn't comment about that, but in their silence Asriel felt some gratitude.

It was really fortunate that, despite the thin frame of Asriel's form, he had enough strength to carry the body with one arm, keeping it close to him, and make sure Patta didn't fall down. After a while the adult had started to walk, although they continued supporting themselves on Asriel's shoulder. Their steps were erratic and weak, barely enough to hold the pace. They weren't saying anything, and that got Asriel concerned. "Say something" the monster requested, trying to not to sound as scared as he was. Patta didn't move their head, staring at the ground the whole time, but they did say something hoarsely.

"…you really are a goat" they were faintly aware of what Asriel was doing, but their mind and judgment was clouded. They wanted to protest, to tell Asriel to not to do what he was going to do, but most of their being wanted to survive, shutting down any conscious thoughts that could lead to their death.

What Patta said was better than nothing, Asriel supposed. At least they were awake. Asriel held Patta and stopped for a moment, looking around. They both had been walking for fifteen minutes already, and the top of Mt. Ebott was getting closer and closer. It was unlikely the entrance to the Underground was there, though, but there was no time to look everywhere for a cave that could lead inside the mountain. The more time passed, the more nervous Asriel got. Inside him, Frisk was getting restless too, it felt like the human SOUL in his own was shaking. "Stay awake!" Asriel shouted at Patta, who didn't reply nor gave any signs of having listened. When Asriel moved they did continue walking, but their HP had continued decreasing.

 **4/26**

The mountain's summit was rockier than the rest, forming a steep series of slopes and tiny platforms. It was extremely difficult to walk or climb, but Asriel was managing to do it, although with problems. Patta let themselves be lead around like a ragdoll, but Asriel was being considerate about their wounds. "I wish I knew healing magic" Asriel said aloud while trying to traverse the challenging path "Maybe I did gain some from absorbing your SOUL, Frisk, but I don't dare to try…"

 _"Don't"_

"My, Frisk. You turned concise now" There was no doubt it was Frisk, talking directly to him, but it seemed they didn't want to hold any conversations.

 _"Focus"_

"Right, I should focus on getting back home" Since Frisk didn't want to talk Asriel continued the journey in silence, ascending higher and higher. The summit was on sight. Mt. Ebott wasn't a particularly tall mountain. From where Asriel was right now there was a marvelous view of the valley, of the city in the distance, but Asriel ignored it all.

Before he ascended further Frisk's voice echoed again in his head. _"Over there"_ That is all it said, and even when Asriel inquired further, all he got in response was a demand to hurry up. The monster exhaled loudly and looked around. He hadn't noticed before the path bifurcated again, one continuing towards the top of Mt. Ebott, while the other descended into a crevice. Maybe he had passed his eyes over it but hadn't paid much attention, too worried about the situation to look around much. Was Frisk telling him to go in that direction? Asriel tentatively took a step towards that direction, Frisk immediately demanding to hasten the pace. Hoping Frisk knew what they were doing, Asriel obeyed. Patta was going slower with each step, to the point where Asriel was starting to drag him.

Patta could feel themselves about to go unconscious. Their ribs and shoulder ached a lot, jostled by Asriel's movements. They were sure those wounds had gotten worse, but there was nothing to do. They did notice the environment starting to get darker, but it wasn't because they were fainting. There was something shadowing the place they were in. It could mean only one thing, as far as they knew. Their conscious thoughts flared, they finally said what they wanted to say from some time ago. "Asriel, no…" they gasped "…please…don't…take me there…"

"I won't let you die" Asriel said, dragging them even faster. His hopes had skyrocketed, the crevice ended in a huge cave. Near its mouth there was a shimmering transparent wall,as if a soap bubble had been layered over it. Asriel knew it very well, many times he had stood near it to try to see the sunset. It was the Barrier.

He was finally home. "We're here! Hang on, we're very close!" Asriel yelled, his voice full of relief and anxiousness. It was contradicting, but that was how he felt. Patta didn't answer to that. Asriel held tighter onto Frisk, passed Patta's good arm over his neck to make sure they wouldn't fall down, and crossed the Barrier.

"Mom! Dad! Someone! Help!" Asriel called into the tunnel. There was no response, so Asriel advanced, calling every once in a while. There was bound to be someone in the throne room, right? Someone could hear from there Asriel's voice, reverberating in the walls of the cave. On the other hand…his voice sounded different than usual. His parents wouldn't think it was Asriel calling for help. "But they'll come. I know they will" Asriel said to Patta. Not that he'd stand around and say nothing, he kept walking until he reached the elaborate marble arch that marked the entrance to the Kingdom of Monsters. Not too far from there the throne room could be found. Encouraged by the fact he was already home, Asriel called for help again.

"…for help. It was over here…?" a female voice sounded from the throne room. Asriel's heart practically leaped in joy, having recognized it.

"Mom!" he shouted, carefully leaving Frisk's body and Patta on the ground, and ran to the entrance to the throne room. Toriel barely had time to step onto the tunnel before Asriel launched himself over her, hugging her tightly and forgetting that, for the moment, he had a lot more strength than usual. Toriel was pretty taken aback by what was happening, as far as she knew a stranger had leaped and clung onto her. It was not the best first impression Asriel could make after four days of not having seen her at all.

She was about to forcibly tear away Asriel when she took a better look at the person hugging her. It was certainly a Boss Monster, that was unprecedented. After all, her husband and son were the only others in existence, weren't they? Feigning calm to disguise her wariness Toriel grabbed Asriel from the shoulders, making him stand a further back. "Excuse me for asking, but…who are you?"

That got Asriel slack-jawed. "M-Mom, it is me…Asriel…" he sounded so heartbroken Toriel decided to take a good luck at the stranger. Physically that was definitely not Asriel. However, something in his eyes was familiar to her, it really was like her son looked at her, full of love, admiration…and right now it also had a longing to be recognized.

"Asriel? How can that be possible?" she asked faintly "What happened to you, my son?" Asriel was about to reply to that when he remembered Patta's critical condition. Astonished he could have forgotten, even in a moment such as his awaited reunion with his mother, he hurried back where he had left his friends.

"Mom, there is no time! Help us!" Asriel begged. Now that his mother was here he was sure everything would be okay. She would know what to do! Toriel could do anything, she'd heal them immediately. Toriel didn't waste time in asking what was going on, instead following Asriel. When she saw the two humans lying on the ground her immediate reaction was to gasp in horror and hurry towards the one that was still alive. "They are hurt, Mom! You can heal them, right?" Asriel looked at Toriel, hopeful. Toriel made a quick cursory examination of Patta's wounds, assessing the severity of his state. She inhaled sharply, astounded.

"This is not good. I'll do my best, but…" Toriel bit her lip. She didn't like to admit she couldn't guarantee to heal the human adult, but that was the truth. She looked up from them, now intending to check on Frisk, but before she could approach the child Asriel stopped her, somber.

"They are dead, Mom" he said. Toriel looked at his changed son but approached Frisk's body, hoping he was wrong and there was a chance to save Frisk. It was useless, though, they were really dead.

"Poor child, dying at such a young age…" she lamented, tenderly brushing away strands of hair from Frisk's face. There wasn't time to waste, at least one of the humans could be saved, and while her first reaction was to be prudent about the thought of an adult human being in the Underground she wasn't going to stand aside and let them die. Toriel took the scarf loosely wrapped around Patta's neck and tied it so it held the shoulder bones in place before proceeding with the healing. Having already checked Patta's wounds she let her hands acquire a green glow, focusing it over Patta's body and letting it be enveloped in the healing magic many monsters knew. It wasn't meant to heal immediately, that was just so Patta wouldn't be in imminent danger of death, and fusing the broken bones together so Patta could be moved without the wounds getting worse. While she worked she avoided looking at Asriel. Asriel watched her mother work on his friend. He was pensive, mulling something:

His return to the Underground wasn't going like he expected it'd be.

Sure, it was true he wasn't really himself right now, at least physically, but when Toriel believed it was really him her reaction wasn't what he thought it'd be. Toriel wasn't known for holding back onto demonstrations of affection towards her loved ones. He had expected her to be coddling him, and to be honest, he had been hoping that would happen, but she had shown no desire to do anything like that, leaving aside the urgent situation Asriel had brought with him.

Where was the tearful reunion? The piercing questions about where he had been for four days? The 'we were so worried' he had been ready to deal with?

 _"Are you okay, Azzy?"_ Frisk asked, but Asriel didn't answer to that. He was feeling pretty disheartened after his arrival went much differently than he thought it'd be. Toriel was his mother, yet she was acting so…so distant, overly careful, and over everything else, very confused. Was it because he had absorbed a human SOUL? No, that wasn't it. Toriel would ask many questions about that and try to understand what happened, but she hadn't made not even a single comment about that.

"Mom, where is Dad?" Asriel asked while Toriel gently lifted Patta from the floor. Patta was unconscious, soothed by the healing magic. Toriel looked at Asriel, he saw hesitation in her eyes before she averted her stare.

"Gor…Your father is away. He is visiting Waterfall; he should be back soon. I'll take the human to a place where I can heal them better. Please take the child's body and follow me"

"B-b-but Mom, I want to see Dad!" Asriel protested, but Toriel left very quickly, just giving him a quick apology that, although warm and caring, left him stunned. She seemed to be in turmoil, most likely not sure how to deal with the confusion she was feeling. That convinced Asriel:

Something was really wrong.

Asriel sighed and took Frisk's dead body, following Toriel's instruction.

-ooooo-

The Royal Castle wasn't meant to be the Dreemurrs' home, it was more of a huge building holding many convenient locations for the citizens of New Home. Only around half of it was used by the Royal Family as their personal property, and even then, most of the rooms they had kept were empty or were no more than places to sit around. That was why it was convenient to turn one of those unused rooms into a temporal infirmary for Patta to lie in. There was a couch in one. It was no bed, but it was going to be good enough. After all, it wasn't like Patta was going to be there for a long while. Now that the critical situation had been attenuated, Toriel was sure she'd be able to heal them enough for them to be able to continue their life as normal. Their body would have to finish healing naturally, that should be no problem.

During the short trek to the room Patta was going to rest Toriel walked slowly, peering around the corners before walking to other hallways. That was no surprise, after all, if anyone saw the Queen and another Boss Monster, carrying a heavily wounded human and a corpse, it'd cause quite an uproar, to say the least. The castle hallways were pretty much empty, no one was passing by, nor voices or steps could be heard. It didn't take long to get to the place Toriel had been wanting to go.

Asriel had been silent until he and Toriel entered the room. He closed the door, leaving Frisk's body on the floor again. It felt kind of insulting to be carrying his friend's dead body like it was a load. Toriel was already using her healing magic on Patta, increasing the intensity of it and trying her best to close the wounds as well as she could. "Mom, what about Frisk? What will we do with…" he couldn't bring himself to call it a dead body, even though that was what it was.

Toriel didn't turn around. "We'll bury them. I promise we'll do it with the utmost respect" now she did turn around "I can see they were an important person for you. Who were they to you?"

"They were my best friend" Asriel replied glumly. He felt greatly uncomfortable talking about them when they were lying nearby "When will Dad be back?"

"It'll be soon, Asriel" No 'he'll be happy to see you' or 'he spent these days looking for you'. Asriel grimaced, that had him really conflicted. He wanted to scream, ask why she was acting like nothing had been wrong, but he didn't dare to do it. It wouldn't solve anything.

It took twenty minutes of healing before Toriel finished. All that was left was for Patta to wake up. They were sleeping peacefully, thanks to Toriel's healing magic. "It is done!" she smiled for a moment before turning her attention towards Frisk "Do you want to do something special for them?"

"…I'll think about it" What did 'something special' mean? It wasn't like they could do a normal funeral for Frisk. Better leave this up to Toriel.

"I'll be back in a moment. Please, take care of the human until I return" Toriel was friendly and calm, but even behind her façade Asriel could see she was still confused. He supposed it was because of him arriving from the surface with two humans in tow, but she once again went away before he could say anything.

"What is going on here?" Asriel mumbled and sat near Patta.

-ooooo-

Conversing with Frisk was Asriel's way of coping with the situation for now. It'd take a while for him to accept Frisk's death, and he knew someday he'd have to separate his SOUL from Frisk's – maybe the Royal Scientist could do something about that? – but for now he was really happy his best friend was still with him in a way. Frisk was trying their best to give encouragement words to Asriel, and trying to distract him from Toriel's distant behavior.

She had taken Frisk's body with her, so all Asriel had in that room was Patta on a couch. It seemed they weren't going to wake up for the rest of the day, and frankly Asriel was very nervous about that. All the plans Patta had for themselves, their newfound courage about shaping up their future…it all may have been gone down the drain now that they were trapped in the Underground. How would they react once they woke up? Even though Asriel was under the mountain too, and although he hoped monsterkind would welcome Patta, he had the feeling Patta wouldn't take it very well to know their former life was practically gone now.

That got Asriel to remember something. He looked in his pocket and took out Patta's cellphone, finding it was turned off. The battery had already run dry. Not that it would have been of much use, the layers and layers of rock and dirt that was Mt. Ebott wouldn't allow any contact with the outside world. Still, Asriel wanted to give it back to Patta, but it'd be useless if it couldn't even be turned on. Maybe he could ask Asgore to give it to someone to pass the information to another cellphone?

Asgore…Asriel really wanted to see him. He wanted to know his father had missed him, that he had been worried of his disappearance. Wasn't he in Waterfall? It was unlikely Asriel could go to Waterfall and return before Toriel noticed he was gone, but Asriel didn't mind that as long as she didn't catch him before he left the castle. _"What about Patta?"_ Frisk reminded him. The goat monster looked at Patta for a moment, but his decision to see his father was what his heart wanted right now.

"I'll be back soon. They will be okay" Asriel replied and stood up, going to the door. Was it appropriate for him to walk through the Underground in this state? He was still a monster, despite the unsettling sight of his actual body, it was possible people wouldn't even look twice at him. Reaffirming his desire to see Asgore, Asriel exited the room and closed the door behind him.

The halls of the castle were empty, it seemed that day not many citizens were going to the castle. Asriel arrived to the public areas, but before he got to the entrance he heard a door opening. Startled, Asriel hid, peeking from behind a column. It was Toriel, and she was carrying a few books as well as a pair of large gray hooded robes. She seemed calmer than she had been before. Asriel had been about to sneak back to the room Patta had been placed in when she saw Toriel cheering up immediately, a smile coming to her face.

From the hall to the entrance Asriel heard voices. "Tori, we're back!" Asriel smiled when he heard that voice, his father had arrived. If it weren't because Toriel was there and he thought she wouldn't like to see his son disobeying her. The King of All Monsters appeared into view, carrying an Echo Flower. He nuzzled Toriel lovingly, who half-heartedly tried to get him to stop. Not that she really minded that much, the way she leaned against him showed she'd love to let it continue, but it wasn't really the place for extended displays of affection. Asriel rolled his eyes good-naturedly at something he was used to see almost every day, but then someone else walked in. It was to be expected, Asgore had said 'we'. What Asriel didn't expect was who that other person would be.

It was himself, just like he looked like less than two hours before. A little Asriel, carrying an Echo Flower almost as tall as himself, with a big smile on his face. "Can we plant then in the garden now, Dad?" the other Asriel asked, obviously excited to have it as part of the garden. Asgore messed with the tuft of fur on the other Asriel's head, benevolent.

"We can. You go first, I'll be there in a minute"

The other Asriel nodded and ran off towards the gardens, holding the pot with the Echo Flower. Once the child was gone Toriel's cheerfulness dropped, taking a more pensive expression. Asgore, noting the sudden change of mood, looked at her worriedly. "Is there something wrong, Tori?"

"…it is complicated" she said and in a quiet voice told Asgore everything that had happened about her grown son appearing near the throne room with two humans. Asriel listened, hoping to hear something that showed his mother did believe he was Asriel and not some kind of impostor "It's confusing…I know that is my son, I can see it! But how is it possible?" Asriel felt his heart a bit lighter, at least she didn't doubt it was Asriel.

"It sounds like there is a whole story behind this. We should listen to our son first. How is the adult human? Do you think they could be…" Asgore gestured vaguely "…dangerous?"

"I don't know. It's too early to say for sure, but Asriel trusts them. We should listen to them once they are awake" Toriel said. Asriel could kind of understand his parents' reticence. It was one thing to be welcoming to a human child, like he thought they'd be. A human adult could be much harder to deal with, especially if there was any chance they'd take the whole 'monsters exist' wrongly. Asriel knew Patta wasn't like that, but all his parents knew was that he had dragged them into the Underground, along with the dead body of another child.

It seemed a long explanation was going to be needed. Still, Asriel had his own confusing matters to think about, too. While he returned to the room Patta was sleeping in he thought about the other Asriel. It was strange…it fit perfectly with the memories Asriel had.

He remembered going with Asgore to Waterfall. Asgore had a few meetings with some people over there, apparently to plan a possible expansion to a tiny village in that area, and Asriel had waited patiently for all the royal business to be done. After all, Asgore had told him he wanted to acquire some Echo Flowers for the garden. Since those flowers grew prolifically in Waterfall, he wanted to see if it would be possible for those to live in other environments, such as in his gardens. Asriel himself had chosen the Echo Flowers, and the two of them had carried those to the castle.

Asriel also reminisced how excited he had been to plant the Echo Flowers, how he had run immediately to the gardens and started to do it, bumbling around with the tools and making large holes until his father finally arrived. Now that he thought about it, Asgore had taken a while to go, and after the Echo Flowers were planted he said he'd be busy for the rest of the day. Asriel had returned to his home, his day continued without any problems.

What was more, those memories didn't feel out of place, unnatural like other fragments he had remembered during his time over the surface. It felt like those memories did belong in his head and in his life. What was the conclusion of all that? "Is that possible? How can _that_ be what happened?" Asriel muttered when he returned to the room, confused.

 _"I don't know"_ that wasn't very helpful. Frisk didn't have access to all of Asriel's thoughts, they didn't know what answer Asriel had reached. There wasn't much time to discuss and get Frisk up to speed. Someone knocked on the door, and when Asriel opened the door, he found his parents there. Before they could say anything Asriel ushered them inside, Toriel leaving aside everything she had brought.

"There is a lot I need to tell you about" he started.

-ooooo-

Retelling the events of those four days was almost cathartic for Asriel. He omitted what happened in the void before he appeared in the house, instead saying that, suddenly, he woke up in a house over the surface. He recounted how Patta had gone great lengths to help him return to Mt. Ebott, and tried to protect him from any dangers he could find, sometimes succeeding, other times failing, but showed to be supportive and tried their best to comfort him when things got tough for him. He spoke about the people he met over the surface, how he befriended them, but didn't go into much detail about incidents such as the FIGHTs he had with some. And over everything else, Asriel talked about Frisk. He reminisced about the moments he spent with Frisk, how they supported him, and acted as his clutch in difficult moments. At some point Asriel had started to cry, finally letting go the last bits of the grief he felt over Frisk's death.

It also helped that Toriel had hugged and cried with him, that was what Asriel had wanted. He knew his parents would understand his feelings, how much it hurt to know he was alive and his best friend had died, and although neither Toriel nor Asgore had said much beyond asking some questions and clarifications on some stuff, he felt like they had truly listened to him, and wanted to give him leeway to cry, which he did when he got to the part where he was pursued all over Mt. Ebott. By that point Asriel was clinging to his father, unable to talk coherently at the first try.

"They wanted to-to live here in the Underground, and I let him! It's my fault he-he-he got killed-" Asriel was hiccupping, letting out all the grief he felt, once again. He had thought he had cried all he needed, back when he had found Frisk's body, but he knew now it wasn't as simple as crying once and never feeling hurt over it ever again. Frisk hadn't said anything, but Asriel could feel a strange mix of emotions emanating from the human SOUL inside him.

"It wasn't your fault. That was an unfortunate turn of events, and you shouldn't blame yourself as much as you are doing now" Asgore soothingly patted his son's back, patiently waiting for him to stop hanging onto him like he feared Asgore was going to vanish in thin air. It took a while, but he did that, rubbing his eyes with his hands, starting to feel exhausted from everything that had happened that day so far. It wasn't even the evening yet, and he already felt like he could fall unconscious at any moment.

"A-And Patta, they are hurt and-I brought them here! That is not what they wanted, I…I feel like I betrayed them…they'll hate me when they wake up…"

"You saved their life. They didn't sound like the kind of person that'd be ungrateful about that" Toriel looked at Patta, still sleeping "Now they are trapped along with all of us and there is nothing that can be done about it. They'll have to understand that sooner or later"

"…thank you, Mom" Asriel mutedly said. The bad impression he had when Toriel had acted distant earlier was gone now, he understood why she had been that way. He still had yet to touch that topic, but he wasn't sure how to approach it. Asgore asked Asriel if he'd be okay, if he wanted anything, receiving a shaky response that yes, he'd be fine.

"What is important to find out now is how it was possible for our son to appear on some place over the surface, and how two Asriel exist at the same time" Toriel wasn't confused anymore, instead seeming more interested on getting to the core of that conundrum "And the human will need a place to live, too. Gorey?"

"I'll find them a place in New Home, but they should avoid contact with other monsters until the monthly address in a few days. That'd be for the best"

"After the human awakens I'll talk with Dr. Gaster, he'll find a way to separate Frisk's SOUL from Asriel's SOUL" the immediate plans were defined, Asgore and Toriel would undoubtedly try their best to avoid any sort of complications to the already kind-of-delicate situation. Toriel stood up, going to accompany Asgore outside, but Asriel grabbed her sleeve, stopping her.

"Mom, wait! I…" Now or never "…what day is today?"

"It's the fourteenth, dear" That was all the confirmation Asriel needed to know his supposition was correct. Something must have shown on his face, because Toriel suddenly acquired an expression of deep worry "Is there something wrong?"

"…I went back in time" Asriel gasped, stunned. Since he said it so quietly Toriel asked him to repeat it again "I went it back in time! That…that explains everything! The date in Patta's calendar, the other Asriel, no one noticing I was missing, it all makes sense! I went back in time!" All response he got was confused stares from both his parents and a _'are you sure?'_ from Frisk. Asriel started pacing around the room, trying to fully comprehend the significance of such development "Yes, I'm sure! And the moment it all happened, it was-it will be tomorrow! Tomorrow the other me is going to be sent five days into the past!"

Toriel and Asgore exchanged a glance. "Asriel, are you _completely_ sure of what you're saying?" Asgore wasn't outright rejecting the sudden epiphany Asriel had, but it was to be expected he wouldn't immediately accept it, either. Toriel was more skeptic because of a different point.

"You'd also need to appear very far from here. How will that happen?"

"I don't know how it happened!" Asriel stopped, starting to smile "The Royal Scientist! He can help us with this. I remember seeing him shortly before it happened! He'll know what to do"

"Then let's not discuss it any longer. I'll talk with Dr. Gaster now" Asgore was starting to see the significance of Asriel's supposed time travel. If his son was going to be sent into the past the next day then it was important it _did_ happen, wouldn't it? Fighting it was going to be unwise. Once that got solved then Gaster would be ordered to focus on separating the SOULs, but for now, keeping the timeline intact was the priority "Did we tell you anything about what would happen?"

"No, I didn't know anything. Don't tell the other me!"

"Got it. Tori, take care of-"

"I will" Toriel nodded. While Asgore talked with Dr. Gaster and explained the situation Toriel would stay behind. She'd know how to deal with the human if they got upset, even though Asriel had assured her they weren't violent. Better be safe than sorry. Besides, she wanted to talk with them about their future life in the Underground.

"Dad! There is something I'd like to ask you to do, uh…" Asriel gave Asgore Patta's cellphone, asking him to find a way to recharge it or something like that "And first go to the garden and plant the Echo Flowers. I remember you did that before being busy for the rest of the day"

"Understood. Thank you, son" Asgore left the room, a bit dazed by everything that had been revealed in that room. It was a bit too much to swallow at once, but he was sure after some thought he wouldn't feel so disoriented. After all, he trusted Asriel was right about all that, even though it sounded so strange and fantastic.

Everything had turned upside-down that day for so many people, and from the looks of it, it wasn't over yet.

-ooooo-

Hours passed.

Toriel had expected Patta to be unconscious or sleeping for quite some time, and wasn't pleased to see she had been right. The longer Patta stayed asleep, the more likely it was he wouldn't recover, she supposed. Had they fallen down, like monsters did? For Asriel's sake she really hoped Patta hadn't fallen down, the last thing she wanted for her son was another emotional burden.

Keeping Asriel entertained seemed like a good idea, that was why many of the books she had brought were Asriel's favorites. When he asked about the cloaks Toriel gave one to him. "You and them will need to hide from other monsters. These cloaks will help with that" Asriel supposed she was right; some people may panic if they saw Asriel's actual form or a human in the Underground. Not having anything else to say for the moment, he sat to read, but wasn't able to focus. From time to time he glanced at Patta, worried as to why it was taking so long for them to wake up.

While Asriel waited, Toriel worked. The kingdom wasn't going to run itself not even for a few hours. Human in the Underground, time-traveling son, all that was important, but there was work to do, too. Still, she couldn't focus very well, either. From time to time she checked Patta's vital signs, not finding anything unusual. It was all matter of waiting, it seemed. Asgore hadn't returned yet, but Toriel trusted he had done what Asriel had requested.

The magic lighting outside had diminished to its evening intensity when Patta finally woke up.

The human opened their eyes, unfocused. Their right shoulder felt unnaturally stiff, and although overall their body hurt, they felt better than they did before. They expected to see the sky, or fluorescent lights belonging to a hospital room, but instead they saw gray stone. Without making a sound they managed to sit, looking at the scarf tied around their wounded shoulder. "I wish I had thought of this" they mumbled and carefully moved their arm. It seemed their arm had lost mobility, but at least it was good enough to continue living like usual.

"Oh! You are awake!" Patta heard a female voice, completely unfamiliar for them. When they turned around they saw a goat monster that greatly reminded them of Asriel "How are you feeling?"

"I am…I am okay…?" Patta tentatively answered, pressing their back against the couch. Who was she? Trying not to panic they looked around, finding Asriel nearby "Asriel, who is she?"

"H-Hi, Patta" Asriel didn't look at them, still nervous about Patta possibly hating him, and didn't even answer. Toriel didn't take offense to Patta's relatively rude behavior, though. She smiled calmly and left aside her glasses and work materials.

"I'm Toriel, Queen of the Underground. Nice to meet you" she said. Patta waved half-heartedly, starting to realize what was going on.

"Oh, I'm sorry, uh…Your Majesty" Patta managed to say, looking away. How were they supposed to talk to royalty, again? Asriel was one thing, being over the surface by himself and not even introducing himself that way, but now here the Queen of All Monsters, taller than Patta was, wearing a dainty crown and all. Patta turned towards Asriel again "How can your mother be here? That would mean the Barrier was broken and monsters are free…no, I got it wrong, it's backwards, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Asriel played dumb, but the way he was staring at the floor showed his guilt. Patta felt their eyebrow twitching, taking that almost as a confirmation of what was going on.

"Asriel, please tell me I'm not right. Am I in the Underground? T-Tell me it isn't true" Asriel slowly nodded, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as if he expected Patta to start shouting in dismay, or blame him loudly.

Patta did nothing of that, though. Instead they sunk in the couch, starting to feel numb. That was it, that is how it all ended for them. Trapped under a mountain, most likely never going to see another human again. Their plans, their dreams, their determination to return home, make amends with their parents, reach all the goals they now had…it was all for nothing now. It was similar to what Asriel must have felt when he first appeared in their house, he supposed, but unlike Asriel they didn't have any chances of returning to the world they belonged in. The fact their last action over the surface was letting Frisk get killed wasn't going to help, they thought. They were sure Asriel wouldn't forgive them for that.

All in all, they had lost _everything_. "…I…what will I do now…?" they said aloud, feeling completely lost and alone.

* * *

 **The final part of this story has started. Eight chapters left.**


	33. Cycles

What does one do when practically everything one knew and held dear is gone? Patta had no idea. That was why for the moment all they did was close their eyes and sigh, feeling drained. They didn't even dare to look at Toriel, although she had shown kindness so far. Toriel got a little closer, sitting on the couch too. "How are you feeling?"

Patta waved their hand around, trying to think of the right word to express how they felt. "Numb. Stunned. Tired. Take your pick"

"Asriel told me about everything you did for him. Not only you treated him with kindness, you also worked hard to help him get here safe and sound" Toriel smiled warmly "Thank you so much for that"

That got Patta to open their eyes to look at her. "I did it gladly. He is a nice child"

"I'm very proud of him! Did you know that…" Toriel started lavishing some praise onto Asriel, much to her son's dismay. Verbal affection in the form of praising and telling stuff about Asriel was another thing Toriel didn't refrain from doing, especially towards those who knew him very well.

"M-Mom!" Asriel hid behind his ears, blushing. That got Toriel to stop, laughing a bit. It was kind of comforting to know that, after everything that had happened, Asriel was definitely still the same in many ways.

"Fine! I'll stop. But now that you are awake, human, we should talk about a few matters" Toriel stopped smiling. It wasn't time to talk as a mother, it was time to talk as the Queen of All Monsters. "What is your name?"

It did feel a bit embarrassing being called 'human'. Had Asriel felt that when they had called him a kid during the first couple days? "My name is Patta, Your Majesty"

"Oh, please don't call me Your Majesty. You are safe, there is no need to be so formal" Toriel shrugged, but Patta noted she hadn't invited them to call her by her name "It seems you'll be living in the Underground for the foreseeable future. How do you feel about that?"

"Not good, that is for sure" Patta hurried to add something else "I-I don't mean it as an offense, it is just that…I don't feel I belong here. One of the reasons I brought Asriel all the way here was because a monster living alone among humans sounded so sad and unfitting. It must be the same for me, living alone among monsters" That was just one of the reason why they were feeling so miserable right now, but they didn't feel like giving Toriel too many details about themselves. She may be Asriel's mother, but to them she was a stranger for now "If there were at least another human here with me it'd be different, but there isn't. I'm…I'm all alone"

Toriel wasn't sure what to reply to that. Stuff like 'you're not alone' sounded empty, and anything she could think that could console them didn't seem like it'd help much. At a loss of words, she decided to continue with the reason she started to talk with them in the first place. "You'll need a place to live in for as long as you are here. Don't worry, monsters won't hurt you" Toriel pointed her hand to the window in the room, inviting Patta to look outside. Not having anything better to do, they went there, peeking outside.

It was the gray city Patta had gotten a glimpse of in their memories, back when they had seen Asriel's drawing. Eye-catching domes and austere buildings formed blocks and blocks, as far as their eyes could see in the dim light of the Underground at the evening. Winding through the city and raised over it there was a long passageway, connecting what looked like the edge of New Home with the castle. "This is the capital, where most monsters live. Beyond this place there are other smaller villages, placed in many other places of the Underground, but for your safety and comfort I suggest you live here in New Home"

"I don't have any money" Patta said. How were they supposed to live in a new place if they had no money at all? They needed a job, some way to survive, everything they had back at home. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't because they had no idea where to start.

"We can help you at the start of your life here. Would two weeks be enough?"

"I don't know" Two weeks seemed too little time to get their life in order, but they didn't say that. It couldn't be that easy. Besides they felt too discouraged to think much about all that. Toriel shook her head, a bit annoyed by Patta's lack of drive.

"I know the thought of living in the Underground may seem daunting, but you are not alone. You have our full support. It's our way to thank you for taking care of Asriel during the past few days" That actually did get Patta to cheer up a bit, at least enough to smile faintly. They nodded and stepped away from the window.

"Thank you. I'll…I'll manage to live. I don't know how yet, but I will live. Everyone is going to find out sooner or later that I'm not a monster, though" Once another problem that didn't have much solution. Humans had accepted monsters, but that was not _that_ much of a surprise for Patta. After all, they did believe humanity was good. How would monsters react? Asriel had been steadfast most of the time about monsterkind's kind nature, but it was one thing to hear about it and a completely different one to have to rely on it for the rest of their life, especially since the Barrier could only be broken with human SOULs. It was like having a target on their back, that is the impression they had.

Toriel sensed the worries Patta had and tried to make them look less heavy that they were. "You don't have anything to worry about. You'll be presented to everyone in the monthly address! And from that moment on you'll be under our protection. There is nothing to be afraid of. I promise"

That seemed okay. Toriel and Patta talked for a while more about Patta's new life. It'd be necessary for them to spend the night in an inn while everything else was arranged. The monthly address was going to be at the end of the week, so all they had to do was stay there until then. Toriel would pay for the expenses, but Patta was asked not to leave the inn if possible. During the discussion Asriel could only watch, wondering if Frisk would have received the same attentions. He believed Toriel and Asgore would have been much more affectionate and overwhelming since Frisk was a kid, but it didn't really matter much now. _"I don't think they'll enjoy being here"_

"I'll help" Asriel said, making sure neither Toriel or Patta heard him "I brought them here, so wouldn't it be my responsibility to make sure they'll be okay? They tried to take care of me, I think I owe them for that"

 _"Will you tell them about the other you and about the time travel?"_

Asriel hesitated for a moment. Should he? It may not be a good idea. Patta had too many things in their mind, adding one conundrum more could overwhelm them further. "No. I can deal with this by myself. Dad and Dr. Gaster will help! It will be okay" Leaving that aside, what was he supposed to do about that, either way? There wasn't much he could do. By telling his parents and encourage Asgore to get Gaster's help he had already done his part to ensure his past self would be sent to the past, the loop in the timeline was going to be complete. At first glance it seemed like that was all he needed, and although he had already thought about it all, he couldn't think of anything else he could do.

-ooooo-

It was to be expected living in the Underground would need a certain dose of planning, but Patta hadn't expected Toriel to give everything so much thought. She was trying her best to solve any problems that could arise, with less inconveniences for both Patta and the monsters. It was no surprise she was the Queen, she had a way to pinpoint potential problems and look for ways to solve it all. Most of the time Patta had given short answers to all her questions, feeling a bit at a loss. There were so many things they didn't understand yet Toriel saw as clear, but at least they trusted her to take the best decisions.

It took a while but the arrangements for Patta's life were finished. They'd indeed live in New Home, Toriel would start looking for a small house for Patta to live in. Either she or Asgore would check on them regularly to make sure everything was okay and solve any problems that could happen. Regarding money, the royal family would support Patta's needs for the first month, and during that time Patta would acquire a job and form bonds with the community. All in all, it didn't sound different from what life over the surface was, leaving aside the part about the Dreemurrs supporting them.

So why were they still feeling so glum about everything? It was starting to cross the line, going from understandable gloom and turning into unhealthy amounts of self-pity. Toriel had been patient with Patta, but even her patience had limits. She didn't shout or scold Patta, but when she spoke at the end her tone showed she hoped Patta would change their mindset soon. "You can't keep dragging yourself down. What happened to Frisk was a tragedy, and living in the Underground may look overwhelming, but you _need_ to be strong. I hope you understand it"

"I do, really!" Patta said, muttering 'geeeez' under their breath.

"I'm glad to hear that" Toriel smiled but her eyes stayed stern. She picked up all the documents and work she had done while Patta was asleep and prepared to leave "I'll now arrange that child's burial. Are you sure you don't want to do anything special, Asriel?"

"I…" Asriel fidgeted. One couldn't just ask a child what to do for their friend's burial, although he knew Toriel had the best of intentions. In a way he was thankful for that "I think I do. Mom, can we-" he approached Toriel and started whispering to her. There really was something he wanted to do, now that he thought about it. Toriel listened to everything Asriel had thought, nodding.

"We can do that! We'll do it tomorrow. I'll prepare everything for that" Toriel hugged Asriel for a moment before leaving the room. Patta and Asriel were left, standing there in awkward silence. Neither knew very well what to say to the other.

Still, Asriel felt it was necessary to try to be a bit more positive despite everything that had happened that day. He approached Patta, doing the biggest grin he could muster. "I'm happy you are here, Patta. You'll like the Underground. It is, uh…it is nice, and everyone will want to meet you". Patta turned their head around for a moment, just for a couple seconds before averting their eyes.

"That is, um, that is great" Patta replied. That sounded so disinterested and distant Asriel felt immensely discouraged, instead slinking away to the other side of the room. They both stayed in silence, too deep in their own individual misery to bother trying to snap out of it.

After a while Asgore returned. The king looked very tired, but still took the time to greet Asriel and waving politely at Patta. "Howdy, you two. Are you feeling okay?" The murmurs of 'I'm fine' didn't exactly help to warm up the atmosphere. Asgore awkwardly scratched his mane of hair, looking around "Golly, it sure feels heavy in here…do you two want anything? Asriel?"

"Can I go outside, Dad?" Asriel asked, hurrying to get to the door and going out without even waiting for an affirmative answer. He was sure it would all be okay as long as stayed away from where people tended to gather, and far from his house. He just wanted to be alone for a moment.

Asgore tried to stop Asriel, but his son went away so fast he didn't have more time than to raise his hand. The king sighed. "How did this day turn into this mess…?" he murmured before focusing on Patta. They were eyeing him warily, a bit intimidated by Asgore's size and title. "Don't be afraid, human. Do you mind telling me what happened here?"

The human stood straighter, feeling a bit calmer now that Asriel was not in the room. "Not much. We didn't even say a word to each other"

"Oh" Asgore felt like there was something much deeper going on, and that getting Patta to say exactly what it was would take a good deal of effort. He knew that letting it continue was only going to hurt Patta further. The sooner it was dealt with the better. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Tea?"

"At times like these a cup of tea will do wonders for one's soul. It'll make you feel better"

That actually did sound nice. Patta stepped forward, muttering a thank you. Anything to stop feeling like they were suffocating. Asgore lead Patta out, gently pushing them in direction of the throne room, including the golden hall that Patta recognized. Now that he thought about it, Asgore had been in their memories too, hadn't he?

Not too long after that Asgore had set a couple teacups in a small table in the throne room, filling them with steaming tea. It all really was helping Patta unwind a little, they were trying to make some conversation now. After the necessary introductions were made Asgore judged it was time to prod at Patta's feelings.

"Are you nervous about living here in the Underground?" he asked, leaving the teapot aside.

"Kinda. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I'm not really in mood to talk about that" that was kind of a blunt answer, and Patta immediately opened their mouth to apologize, but Asgore nodded, indulgent.

"Please, call me Asgore, and I understand. Do you feel compelled to talk about anything in particular?"

"Not really" Patta sipped the tea. It was warm, and they felt they were starting to relax immediately "This is some good tea. Thank you"

"It is my specialty, I thought it'd help you feel better. You do look healthier than you did before" he smiled "Asriel told us a lot about you. Thank you for bringing my son back. IF there's anything we could offer to you as thanks you just need to-"

"A way out" Patta had left the teacup on the table, some of the content spilling. This could be their chance! Unfortunately, Asgore seemed uncomfortable and didn't give the positive answer Patta had hoped for.

"I'm afraid that's one thing we can't help you with. No one can cross the Barrier, at least to leave the mountain. Entering seems to be possible, but that wasn't something we knew about"

"Then maybe it IS possible for a human to cross the Barrier! It is worth a try. Let's give it a try" Clinging to their hopes until the very end was not a good thing to do, but they had to. Patta stood up, looking around as if the Barrier was right there in the throne room. Asgore thought it for a moment, staring at his tea for a second before standing up too.

"Very well. Follow me"

The king walked to the cave that led to the Barrier, mulling how he'd deal with Patta after they got their last hopes shattered. If they got worse than they were now chances are the rest of their life would be miserable, if only because Patta would refuse to accept anything. As far as he could see, this was the pivotal moment in the human's existence.

As soon as the iridescent surface of the Barrier was in sight Patta ran towards it, extending their good arm, just in case. It turned out to be a good precaution. Their hand collided against the Barrier, stopping Patta right on their tracks. "…oh god. C-Come on, open up, stupid…" they hit the Barrier with their fist a few times, achieving absolutely nothing "Damn it! Nononono! I can't be trapped in here! I can't…be trapped…" there was no more use on holding onto any hopes of getting out. Patta stopped hitting the Barrier, resigned.

"…I'm sorry to say 'I told you so', but…I told you so" Asgore said from behind them, grabbing their shoulders and leading them away of the Barrier "There is no way out. The best you can do is live as happily as you can"

Patta didn't reply to that, just letting themselves be taken back to the throne room, where they and Asgore continued drinking their teas. The king was glad to see Patta hadn't completely broken down when they were told it was impossible to leave, but it didn't mean it was all okay. Besides, from their actual emotional state, telling them there was a way to cross the Barrier didn't seem like a good idea. All Asgore could do for now was to offer some support, even though it was done through silence and hot beverages.

The impromptu tea party was almost over when Patta couldn't contain anymore the mix of harmful emotions they were feeling. "Maybe I do deserve to be trapped in here"

"What do you mean?"

"…how could I continue living out there as if nothing happened, when I did something unforgivable?" That was…a bit too dramatic, but it was what they felt. Asgore silently refilled Patta's cup, the human taking it all in one gulp and continuing to vent about their guilt. "…did Asriel tell you about Frisk? They were his best friend. Both Frisk and Asriel were under my care…during these few days" Asgore refrained from saying just how much Asriel had said about them, interested in seeing just where Patta was going now "They were my responsibility, and I promised that I'd protect them both. I wasn't the best guardian, but the three of us got along and…I grew to consider Frisk a friend. Hard not to.

They wanted to be with Asriel until it was time for your son to return here, and I had no problem with that. They…they insisted on climbing Mt. Ebott with me. I was an idiot. I knew it was dangerous! But I let them come with us, even though it would have been better for them to stay behind. I should have insisted more, make them stay in the city!"

"Children can be surprisingly stubborn" Asgore said "Asriel can be like that sometimes, too"

"So we started to climb the mountain and…" remembering all the details about the Hermit and the pursuit made Patta practically shrink in their seat "…w-we got followed by someone up there. They tried to kill us, and…they got Frisk. I let Frisk get killed! I promised them it'd all be okay, and instead I let that happen to them! What kind of person lets something like that happen?!" Patta had started shouting, standing from their seat and pacing around the throne room frantically. Asgore couldn't say he fully understood what Patta must be feeling, but he could sympathize with the guilt that gnawed at Patta's soul. Patta continued talking, not caring if someone other than Asgore could hear them.

"I let Asriel's best friend get murdered! N-Not only I let that kid get killed, I also made Asriel have to see Frisk's _corpse_! Don't you get it?! I saw Asriel crying, clinging to Frisk and _begging_ for them to not be dead!" Patta had stopped pacing around, shaking with barely suppressed anger towards themselves. Asgore approached, extending their hand to touch Patta, but they suddenly turned around and glared at Asgore "Do you think Asriel is going to _forgive me_ for letting that happen?! Who would forgive anyone for that?! It was my fault _that_ happened, and he knows it. I-I can't…I can't just pretend nothing of that happened!"

"Have you talked with Asriel about this?" So that was why the atmosphere was so tense back then. Asriel had already said he felt Patta would hate him, and Patta seemed to think the same about Asriel. Both had their own reasons and were restraining themselves from speaking about it, which was a stupid yet understandable behavior. The sooner they got that out of the way, the better. Patta stood in silence for a moment before shaking their head vehemently.

"I don't dare to. It'd be better to not to see him again, I suppose. I disappointed him, saying I'm sorry won't solve anyt-"

Asgore had enough. Patta was too deep in their own delusion, it would only hurt them if they kept thinking that was true. "My son doesn't hate you. He is very worried about you, and thinks you hate him for bringing you here. Talk with him"

"…really?" Patta felt very conflicted. They wanted to believe that Asgore was right, but their fears and immaturity were holding them back "I don't hate him. It's true I'm upset because I'm here, but Asriel saved my life. I can't be angry with him for that"

"Tell him that"

"…I'll think about it" they conceded. Whether they'd really try to talk to Asriel or not remained to be seen. Besides, that wasn't the only thing that bothered them, Frisk's death itself was a big part of their recent frustration, and that was one they couldn't solve as easily "Thank you, Asgore"

"You're welcome" now that Patta calmed down, Asgore took out an object, passing it to them "Take this. It's a cellphone. Everything that was in your other phone is stored here."

"Huh. Thank you, I guess" Patta immediately tried to make a call to the outside, but although the phone worked, it was still impossible. They kept the phone, though.

"And I have an offer for you. It'll not only allow you to sustain yourself, you'll also have the gratitude of all monsterkind" Asgore wasn't sure if Patta was going to accept, but it was worth a try "I mentioned you to our Royal Scientist, and he is greatly interested in meeting you. He didn't tell me all the details, but he wants you and your SOUL to help him. He's even willing to pay a considerable amount of gold for your help. It'd be worth talking to him about that"

"I'll think about it too" Patta said dully. That was all, no sense on continuing the tea party. The king hoped that had been enough to make Patta snap out of their self-inflicted despair, even if it didn't happen right in that moment.

Nothing else to do but wait.

-ooooo-

Asriel had wandered around the castle, but soon that wasn't enough. He felt trapped, and wanted to have something to do other than stand around and hope for the best. Maybe going to see Gaster was a good idea? He had to, sooner or later. After returning to the room Patta had been resting in, picking up one of the cloaks Toriel had brought and making sure the hood did cover his face well enough, Asriel exited the castle.

He didn't even get five feet away of the castle before he stumbled onto Toriel. She grabbed the cloak and brought Asriel back inside. "Where were you going, Asriel?" she inquired, letting go of the cloak.

"I, uh, I wanted to…to walk around" he said, looking at the ground. Toriel sighed, taking off the hood of the cloak.

"I know you're feeling restless, but you'll have to endure it for a bit longer. You'll have to stay with Patta until…" Toriel tilted her head in thought. How was she supposed to call the son that'd go back in time the next day? Past Asriel? Present Asriel? "…until Asriel completes the time loop you talked about"

"Oh!" That made sense, it wasn't like the actual Asriel could stroll into the New Home house and go sleep in his bedroom.

Toriel had returned to the castle to take Asriel and Patta to the inn where they'd rest for the night. Nobody said a word while donning the cloaks, Toriel being the only one to not to do that. Leaving the castle made Patta greatly nervous, as if they expected any random monster to approach and reveal them as a human, but it seemed Toriel's presence was enough to deter anyone from approaching. All the monsters greeted Toriel, who waved back and exchanged some words with some of the citizens, but everyone kept their distance.

The human shyly peeked from under the hood, looking at everyone around. It was nothing like they had expected. It was true that monsterkind was the potential to be vast and unexpected, but there were so many different sizes and forms they felt almost overwhelmed from that. "It's rude to stare, dear" Toriel murmured when Patta spent way too long looking at one of the bystanders. Patta averted their eyes immediately.

"Mom, wait!" Asriel suddenly said at some point, making Toriel look at where he was pointing. There was a monster selling a few objects of dubious precedence, most likely from garbage humans threw somewhere and somehow ended in the Underground. Among the wares there was something Asriel didn't think he'd see again: a suitcase that looked familiar. It took a bit of begging for Toriel to buy the suitcase, but when Asriel looked at the contents he knew he had been right. The suitcase Patta had taken for the trip and Asriel had accidentally thrown down a fissure days ago had somehow been found. The suitcase and everything inside was soggy, most likely from water from Waterfall, and although the money and everything that wasn't clothes was useless now, the clothes should give Patta some solace. "Look, Patta, it's your stuff!" Asriel gave Patta the suitcase, beaming with joy, but Patta didn't react with the happiness he had expected. They just took it, mumbling an awkward 'thank you'.

Toriel's presence was enough for the innkeepers to accept giving Asriel and Patta a room despite being clad in obviously suspicious cloaks. The two-bed room was small, but it was nicely furnished. After wishing them a good night Toriel left, it was late and the next day was going to be the end of it all: the time loop would have been completed and Patta would decide what to do with their life from the on. Besides there was also the matter of Frisk's burial. Toriel had told Asriel the preparations were ready, all that remained was to do the funeral, following Asriel's request.

Once both had changed and put away the bloodied clothes they had arrived with, both stayed in silence, too nervous to talk with each other. The awkward silence needed to be broken. Asriel sat on his bed, bouncing while trying to think how to bring up conversation. Small talk didn't seem fitting, not when there were certain matters hanging on the air and weighing down their hearts. It was better to deal with that as soon as possible "Sorry for bringing you here, Patta. I wanted to save you, and this was all I could do to do that"

That got Patta to actually look at Asriel. Somehow he reminded them of a kicked puppy, which didn't fit at all the image of the almost grown monster body he currently had. A deep sense of compassion filled them, enough for them to approach and sit nearby. "I'm not angry with you. Asriel, you saved my life! That is something I'll be always grateful for"

"But I did it by dragging you here! You won't be outside ever again…"

"And there is nothing anyone can do about that. Yeah, I get it. I'll have to endure it; I suppose…" Patta felt bile rising to their throat. They loathed their situation, but they weren't going to kick Asriel while he was down, so to say "I'll deal with it"

That had been easier than Asriel thought. While it was pretty obvious Patta wanted nothing more than to leave the Underground, at least he wasn't being directly blamed for that. He felt much more relaxed now, although when Patta spoke again he tensed once again:

"Why are you here, by the way? I thought you'd be in your house by now"

"Oh! I, uh…Mom thought you'd like some company while you get used to the Underground" that was the first excuse he could think. Thankfully it seemed Patta believed it, although they didn't look happy at all.

"Fantastic. Since you are here I think I should, I will, I-you know what, nevermind" Patta stood up and practically ran to their bed, getting into it without caring their clothes were wet. They had been about to talk to Asriel about Frisk and apologize for that, but suddenly they had lost all courage. It was a very familiar feeling, one they thought they had forgotten, the very same feeling they had nine years before. "Good night"

"Wait! Did I say something wrong?" Patta's sudden and ridiculous behavior had caught Asriel off-guard, but although he reviewed what he had said he didn't find anything particularly upsetting. The human ignored him, turning around on their bed.

 _"They're upset. Let them be"_ Frisk advised, although Asriel could feel worry from their SOUL too. There wasn't really anything to do if Patta didn't want to talk.

* * *

 _I was a coward, there's no discussion about that. When I see how I behaved during this time I want to throttle the idiot I was. It's hard to believe I was a twenty-six-year-old grown-up; don't you think? I had the emotional maturity of a child of Asriel's age._

 _Maybe I'm still a coward, but at least I'm not like_ that _anymore._

* * *

-ooooo-

Ananas was pacing around the lobby of Graham's inn, looking at the clock with nervousness. She had arrived two hours before to greet Patta and Frisk after their return, but they hadn't arrived yet. Byssa had been pretty nonchalant about everything, being the only one in the building without a personal attachment to either Patta or Frisk, but Celia was very anxious. She had even gone to the abandoned house to see if Frisk had returned there, not finding any change in that building from how she had left it. Ciruel had been notified already that neither Patta nor Frisk hadn't arrived yet, and it seemed the scholar had told Cohen. Everyone was waiting for any of them for their own reasons, and the way was starting to take its toll.

"Gosh darn it to heck! It's almost midnight and there's no sign of them yet! Who do they think they are?" Ananas shouted in frustration, throwing her hat aside. Byssa took it to return it to her.

"Try calling to your friend's cellphone again" she suggested, Ananas obeying immediately before leaving her own cellphone on the counter, frustrated.

"Useless. It must be turned off or somethin'"

"Do you think something happened to them?" Celia whispered to Byssa for the eleventh time that night.

"Don't think about that, they must be okay" Byssa replied for the eleventh time. That got Graham to finally say something, though.

"Aren't we lying to ourselves? It's over, those two vanished just like everyone else before them did. It's useless to think otherwise"

"Frisk and Patta went missing?!" Celia shrieked immediately, Byssa grabbing her cousin's shoulders immediately and glaring at Graham. The innkeeper understood the message, though. He approached to Celia.

"I'm sorry for not thinking before talking. They may be okay"

"May?" Ananas growled

"They are okay" Graham corrected, frowning. He still considered all this senseless clinging to hopes that were likely to be wrong. Still, as long as Celia was there he needed to watch his words. He returned to the counter, thinking before talking "So now what?"

"We can't keep waiting forever" Byssa said carefully, it was her way of saying she agreed with Graham. Ananas suddenly stopped, having taken a decision. It wasn't something that made her happy, but she didn't think there were other options:

"Well I don' know about you guys but I won' stand around and hope for the best. I'll go look for them"

"What?!" Graham looked at her with an expression of disbelief that showed how insane that was "Are you listening to yourself, Annie?"

"I won't let you change my mind. Patta is my friend, and I'm not going to stand around while they're in danger of going missing. The sooner I go; the more chances I'll have of finding them"

"But it is Mt. Ebott! You know what happens to the people that go there!"

"I have a gun" Ananas showed it, as if that was enough to convince everyone this wasn't insane "I can take care of myself"

"…can I go too?" Celia asked meekly asked before Graham or Byssa could protest further. Byssa immediately demanded an explanation "I-I want to see Frisk before I leave…I don't want them to get lost on that mountain. If I go I think I could find them"

"There's no way I'm letting you go there!" Byssa almost reminded Celia about all the people who had disappeared there, including her brother, Celia's parents and a considerate amount of people, but the girl had covered her ears, having expected someone to say something like that.

"I know what happens there! I-I don't want Frisk or that guy to get lost too, I want to find them!"

"Pardon me, young girl, but I can't let you come with me" Ananas said, but Celia wasn't willing to take that 'no' as an answer. She immediately started arguing very loudly, on the verge of tears, until Byssa practically grabbed her and pulled her aside, forcibly restraining her.

"Okay, okay! I know how you feel, but change your mind!" Byssa pleaded, Celia struggling to escape.

"I don't want to wait anymore for everything! I want to go!"

Bargaining with Celia was impossible, as Byssa found out after ten minutes of constant arguing, pleading and shouting at her. She wasn't willing to let go of their friend until she had seen them one last time, and it all only stopped when Byssa relented, with one condition:

"I'll accompany you" she said to Ananas "If Celia is going then I'll have to go too"

"Are you sure? That mountain is no place for a tyke-"

"I'm not staying here!" Celia yelled.

Byssa sighed. "You heard her". Ananas still seemed to be very reluctant, but it was obvious by now Celia wasn't going to change her mind. Ananas turned around to face Graham, who had been observing everything with grim expression.

"You coming too? The more people the more chances we'll have to return with Patta and Frisk safe and sound"

"…I want to go, but-"

"Are you going to leave our _friends_ stranded there?"

"That isn't what I'm concerned about! I don't know if I'll be useful in any way, that is all"

Ananas crossed her arms. "You'll be. I'm sure you will. Start making provisions and pack everything you think we'll need"

"Are you going to tell your family about this? What if you don't return?" Graham asked pointedly, guessing that was going to be the one thing to make Ananas reconsider the almost suicidal mission of going to Mt. Ebott for a rescue mission. Effectively, Ananas did stop, hesitation finally coming over her.

"…you're playing dirty and you know it" she mumbled. That was her way of saying she definitely didn't know what to think. She wanted to make sure two people who did nothing to deserve something happening to them would return safely, but her family was more important than them. She couldn't invite them to go to the mountain, either. Putting them at risk was out of question.

"I know how you feel but you're jumping the gun here" Graham added, knowing referencing a gun would amuse her and help bring her down to earth "Let me talk with Ciruel. He knows more about the mountain than us, he'll know what to do"

"You do that. Let me tell you this: we can't let another day pass. We need to go tomorrow…if we're going"

"I know. Let me deal with all this problem" Graham took his phone; it was to be expected Ciruel would still be awake.

"I'll return home now. Call me as soon as possible" Ananas requested, and after saying goodbye to Byssa and Celia she left the inn. Having nothing else to discuss, Byssa took Celia to the inn room. Once the girl was asleep, Byssa returned to the lobby, where Graham was still waiting.

"I didn't think she'd flip out like that. She seemed reasonable enough not to go into this kind of mission" she commented, leaning on the counter. Graham shrugged.

"I understand how she feels. She just wants her friends to be okay. Anyone would, she is just…willing to go the extra mile, I suppose. That is how she is" Graham traced with his finger the contours of the phone "I can't let her go alone. She'll need all the help she can have. Being a friend is all about supporting each other in moments like this, isn't it?"

"I don't know. What do you think happened to the monster kid?" That was what Byssa was more concerned with, besides Celia's happiness. She has no idea who the Patta person is, and she hasn't really met Frisk very well.

"I'm sure he's back at home, under the mountain. Perhaps Patta and Frisk went with him?"

"How inconsiderate of them to not to call us" She preferred to think that than entertain the thought of Asriel unwillingly locking his human friends in the Underground. She wanted to believe he was the kind monster he had seemed to be.

Graham got out from behind the counter, making sure the entrance door was locked and starting to turn off the lights. "My friend Ciruel wants to look for Patta and Frisk, too. He even says he'll get help from some teenager he knows. The six of us should be able to find them, but it'd be better if Celia didn't come"

"I can't stop her! Even if I leave her behind I'm sure she'll somehow get to the mountain and follow us. She is stubborn like that" Byssa sighed "I suppose she's fed up with being passive"

"Let's hope for the best, then" There was nothing to be done other than seeing how things would go the next day.

-ooooo-

W.D. Gaster, the Royal Scientist, stared at the golden thread in middle of the infinite void.

The representation of the timeline wasn't hard to understand. It was no more than a completely straight golden line, pulsing with light and a certain aura of majesty that always got him to stare in awe, extending into the distance. That thread, no thicker than a cable, contained everything in the timeline. What was more notable was that only that single thread existed in the emptiness, without branching or dividing into other possibilities.

"Let's see what's there to see…" Gaster murmured, willing himself to reach the thread. It was strange to be able to move in any direction in the void, but that was one of the strange properties of the infinite space outside of the universe. With scientific excitement he placed a hand on the timeline, localizing the present moment. Indeed, just like he had ascertained dozens of times before, he was completely absent in the future beyond the point he had entered his creation in the CORE. That was not strange, after all, he had literally left the known universe and entered the cracks between the worlds. His personal theory was that the void was another layer of existence, which allowed to interact from an outside perspective with the utmost workings of the universe.

There wasn't much to do, though. As there was one single timeline, Gaster didn't dare to try to modify it in any way, nor see the extent of the possibilities modifying the timeline entailed.

The reason he had come to the void was because of Asgore's tale. The prince had gone back in time five days! Gaster moved his hand no more than a millimeter, focusing on Asriel among the billions of lives recorded in the timeline. There he was, five days ago. "What?" One second, there was a single one, currently sleeping in his house, and in the next second, another one existed in a house somewhere over the surface. The second Asriel had literally appeared out of thin air.

Intrigued, Gaster sped up through the timeline without bothering to stop to see much of what exactly Asriel did over the surface, approaching to the present day. There! In the moment he entered the void one Asriel was at his home, the other – the one who had absorbed a human SOUL, apparently – was sleeping in an inn. With some curiosity, Gaster took a peek into the future. Indeed, the child Asriel was going to vanish from the timeline, presumably sent to the past, while the changed Asriel would continue living in the Underground, at least from what he saw from the year after that day. It all made sense, the timeline was intact. He noted with some curiosity that just when the child Asriel disappeared from the timeline, the actual transformed Asriel was in the CORE laboratory, right in the room where the portal to the void was placed in. "That is unusual…I shouldn't be able to see him if he's going to be there" he mused. Gaster saw the transformed Asriel entering the portal, and at the same time appearing in middle of the throne room, which was even stranger.

There was something going on, and he wasn't sure what it was. To find out more, Gaster decided to take a look at the adult human's future. The scientist smiled at his findings. It was all normal until sometime after noon. At that point the human's future didn't exist at all. "I see. So that's what is going to happen" he said, letting go the golden thread. The human's inexistent future wasn't a cause to be alarmed.

From past experiences Gaster had concluded that while he was outside of the universe the timeline needed to "repair" itself to take in account his absence. It wasn't a quick process, so he had quite some time to return, but during that time the futures of anyone who would be majorly influenced by him or his actions were completely absent. It could only mean he'd interact with the human in some important way and that, if he didn't return to the universe before the timeline finished "healing", it'd mean a complete overhaul of the future.

There was one single conclusion he could get from this, and to test it, he focused on the timeline once again, grabbing the point he needed: right the moment he left. Gaster envisioned the surface of Mt. Ebott and tried to open a gateway to that place, but he was incapable of doing it. Nodding, he changed the location to envision, this time seeing the hallways of the CORE laboratory. A gateway opened without requiring any effort. "So to send Asriel back to five days ago I'll need someone who can create a breach into that human's house, someone with a connection to that place. If it isn't Asriel then that leaves only one other option, doesn't it?" So that was how he'd interact with the human the next day. Gaster let go the timeline and crossed the gateway.

Leaving the void that way felt like he was submerging in water. One moment he was in the void, the other he had returned to the universe. Gaster had never seen it directly, but he supposed that now his future existed once again. After taking a moment to compose himself, he entered the room where the portal to the void was in, finding one of his assistants. "Thank you for staying this late"

"You are welcome, boss. Did you find the answers you needed?"

"I did! We'll discuss it tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be an important day in more ways than one!"


	34. Burials

The wristwatch indicated it was around 3:00 AM, and Patta hadn't slept not even for five minutes yet. They held back a groan, wishing for the morning to arrive already. They could hear Asriel snoring from the other bed, somehow his new form had increased the volume of his snoring. That wasn't what was keeping Patta awake, though. It was more because they had too much in their head.

It hadn't taken long for Asriel to fall asleep after Patta clammed up, and the human had spent a couple hours chastising themselves for failing to talk to their friend. They were now immensely bored, having no more to do than stare at their wristwatch.

"…I'm supposed to return to work in a couple days" they suddenly said. That sounded so pathetic they shut up immediately. After looking at the wristwatch for the millionth time that night, they turned around, their eyes focusing on the suitcase Asriel had lost and recovered not too long before. Not having anything better to do, Patta took it and opened the suitcase, taking out the fluffy gloves and slippers they had bought the day Asriel had appeared. "I wonder if I'll have to use these all the time now, pretend I'm a monster and all". Patta left those things aside and rummaged deeper into the suitcase, taking out all the wet clothes and putting them on a pile near the bed. Everything else that had been in that suitcase was useless now, and was left to the side of the knapsack Frisk had lent them long ago.

"That was a nice way to kill time for like three minutes. Now what?" Patta once again laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It took a while for them to think of some other way to pass the time: check the cellphone Asgore had given them. He had said he had put all the data that was in their other cellphone into this one, what had happened to the old one, either way? It didn't really matter. Patta checked all the functions, not finding anything different or special despite being made in the Underground. It seemed monsters weren't different to humans in matter of cellphones.

Contact list. Effectively, there were all the numbers they had. People they knew but never talked with, their parents, friends forgotten long ago…they tried very hard not to let that depress them, barely managing to avoid it. Two numbers had been added recently: Ananas' and one that was labeled 'Toriel'.

The Dreemurrs really were willing to support them. Feeling just a little bit better they continued exploring the functions of the phone, soon getting to the multimedia gallery. Patta had never been someone who used the camera functions of their cellphone very often, so they almost left immediately, or at least they would have if it hadn't been for the bar that indicated memory space. The memory card was almost full. Either monster cellphones were horrendously outdated in the memory capacity department, or Asriel had filled it all with stuff. Frowning a little, Patta opened the folder.

There were pictures and videos that were undoubtedly made by Asriel, the first one not long after the moment Patta had lent the cellphone to the monster. Patta, practically aching for anything to alleviate their boredom, opened the first video.

Asriel had been aiming it around randomly, not focusing on anything concrete. _"Captain's log number zero zero one. Adventurer Asriel Dreemurr reporting!"_ The camera turned around momentarily, as if to confirm who was filming _"We're flying above the clouds right now. We're so high I can't see the ground. This is_ awesome _! I'm going to be over the surface for a day or two. Don't tell anyone-"_ Asriel lowered his voice _"-but I'm nervous. At least I have someone as second in command! Hey, Patta! Say hi! Over here!"_

The video focused on Patta's seat, who just waved without even bothering to peer at Asriel. That didn't stop the child from having fun with his captain's log, talking more about what he thought he'd see. Despite everything, Patta felt a bit comforted with the video.

The videos continued. Asriel had filmed the journey without Patta noticing, sometimes just idling recording the sky and the streets of the city, other times mumbling towards the camera about what he was seeing. After Asriel met Frisk, his new friend had starred in many of the videos, although Frisk always seemed a bit reticent to talk to the camera, at least at first.

 _"We made a snail pie"_ Asriel had said, focusing the cellphone camera on the remains of the pie _"Patta ate three slices!"_

 _"I didn't think they would like it"_ Frisk's voice offscreen from the video said.

 _"Yeah! Patta was distant but now they're starting to relax"_

 _"Do you trust them?"_

Asriel didn't hesitate before replying _"I do. Patta really meant it when they said they were going to take me back home. I trust them"_

"That pie really was something" Patta smiled. Now that they remembered, shortly after that they had confessed to Asriel they had attacked Graham. It had been a moment where they had left aside their cowardice and tried to trust Asriel, with good results. It had been a moment of relief they didn't think they would forget for a while. It also had led to Patta looking back to their past, but they had stopped and refused to continue beyond the surface of their complexes.

The videos continued. After a few more there was one that was almost half an hour long, most of it showing the camera pointing at the ceiling in the room Asriel had slept in, in Ciruel's manor. Patta fast-forwarded all the way near the end, where voices sounded. The video seemed to have recorded the voices after the disastrous dinner that had happened, when Asriel had hidden under the bed in despair. Patta had been about to change the video to avoid listening to that again, but they changed their mind when they heard their own voice. The conversation went like they remembered, but a few lines got them to stop and rewind enough to hear it again.

 _"I'm scared, Patta. I'm afraid of what could happen"_

 _"It's okay to be scared, but many times it's not good to let that fear stop you. You'll be the Prince of All Monsters. Be brave, for the sake of monsterkind. I know you'll be able to help create a time of peace and prosperity for everyone, I'm sure you will"_

 _"I don't know if I can be brave"_

 _"It's okay to feel doubts. Forget about this for now. Tomorrow will be a better day, you'll be back at home and it will all be okay"_

Patta went silent for a moment. They had said that, hadn't they? Yet now they were so scared they were refusing to even consider the situation wasn't as bad as they had thought, leaving aside the 'being trapped' part. "I suppose I'm a hypocrite" Patta said, greatly uncomfortable. In a half-hearted effort to stop guilt-tripping themselves about how they didn't have the strength to do what they said to Asriel, Patta continued watching videos.

It was at the last video that Patta was forced to once again face their own words. While Patta had been talking to Cohen, Asriel had been fiddling with the video function, waiting patiently and without saying anything. The conversation was recorded:

 _"You remind me a lot of myself. I was just one year older than you when I made a mistake that led to the loss of everything I had. At the time I felt just like you, and, well, I drifted through life without a care. Let me tell you what I wish I had been told so long ago" Patta took a deep breath and recalled these four days and everything they had learned, everything they had thought and decided to change:_

 _"You lost everything. Maybe that is true, maybe it isn't, but it doesn't mean it is all over. Times won't be easy for you, but don't lose hope. Find something new, something to fill your days and maybe replace what you lost. There are so many possibilities out there, and you can reach and try to grasp them! What matters is to not to let yourself be chained by your regret._

 _Please, live and don't lose hope. That is what you should do"_

The adult stopped the video, tossing the cellphone aside. Hearing themselves say that had stung way more than they had expected. "Definitely a hypocrite" they groaned before standing up from the bed and going to the window of the inn, opening it just enough to see outside.

It was cold outside, which wasn't strange. What could one expect from a cave? And although there was magic making there be enough light outside for it to not to be complete darkness, Patta couldn't distinguish the shapes outside. It was calming, in a way. Patta leaned on the windowsill, taking deep breaths of fresh air and clearing their head.

Live and don't lose hope. It was so easy to say that, but it wasn't easy to do it, but what they were doing had been extraordinarily harmful. It didn't take them long to realize what they had been about to do: just the same they had done nine years before. Patta had been about to lock themselves in the same self-loathing and fear that had led to the life over the surface they had wanted to change. They were refusing to let themselves be helped by people who wanted to. In a way…

…the Dreemurrs' attempts were revealing something Patta hadn't realized: it was very likely Patta hadn't lost the support of their family and parents like they thought. It was increasingly likely they had deluded themselves into thinking that lie, too depressed and furious with themselves after having failed to pursue their dreams that first time. Patta's parents surely had tried to reach out to them, too, but instead of forgiving themselves they had pushed their parents away and set everything to run away, ending like they did.

And now that once again everything had changed dramatically and Patta once again was blaming themselves stupidly, Patta had been about to commit that same mistake. How would they have ended if they hadn't realized it? Most likely miserable, once again isolating themselves from everything and everyone, too busy commiserating with themselves about having lost the life over the surface to realize how slowly they were falling in despair.

Burying their face in their hands, Patta decided they had wasted enough time feeling bad about everything. They tried to string a train of thought, but their mind continued wandering without a clear objective. To avoid that, Patta started speaking, finding talking helped to keep themselves focused. Their voice was just loud enough for them to listen to themselves. Patta decided to start by reaffirming their identity. After all, wasn't that the most basic step?

"…my name is Patta. Male, twenty-six years old, and currently living under a mountain very far away from my former home. I have many regrets and now I'll admit everything.

This is my confession"

Patta spoke about everything he could think, starting from his first childhood memory and continuing from there. It was a monologue about his life, about everything that had made him the person he was now. Patta talked about all his experiences, the people he met, mentioning even the most banal details. "…when I was nine I talked with a classmate about going on a date without knowing what was love or what it entailed. The date was in the avocado grove down the street from school, and it ended with she breaking a leg, she fell from one of the trees. I never dared to look at her face again, and she moved away a few months later..." School life, his family, friends he had forgotten about long ago…everything was talked.

And during all that Patta realized that, ever since he was a child, he had been a coward. He had been running away from his responsibilities, all in an attempt to protect himself and his feelings from everyone else's judgement. He had intentionally sheltered himself, and gradually cut ties with people that liked and supported him. The longer he talked the easier the words flowed, letting out everything he had locked in their heart during all his life. "…my immediate thought was to run away from home, but I wasn't able to do it by myself. Instead I lashed out at my parents and made them send me away. Mom…she gave me her scarf, and I have worn it since then…"

When Patta was done he could definitely felt something had changed inside him. He felt like he could face anything, no matter if it was his past or his future. He smiled, hesitantly, realizing everything he had said was his life, stuff he couldn't turn his back to and pretend never happened. After all, one's person was made not only by the present or by the future, but also by all the experiences and people one had gone through and met, and he had finally done it.

Patta recognized himself as a person.

Feeling refreshed and completely at peace for the first time in a very long time, Patta closed the window and got back to his bed. He was very tired, and not long after he lied down on the mattress, he fell asleep.

-ooooo-

Six hours remained.

When Asriel woke up he was surprised to find Patta immediately giving him a plate with food. Apparently the inn had left it not too long before, as a complimentary breakfast. "Good morning, Asriel! Eat up!"

The monster stared at Patta for a moment before letting his head fall back on the pillow. "Did I wake up or am I still dreaming?"

"You woke up" Patta left the plate aside and took his own breakfast, eating with promptness. He was in very good mood, a jarring contrast from his gloomy behavior from the day before. It was a bit hard to believe such drastic change had happened overnight, but there he was.

During breakfast Asriel asked Patta about that, all the human said as response was that they had thought during the night about a few important things. "I finally realized who I am and what I should do. You could say I'm "growing up"!" Patta scowled "It was overdue. I should have done it a long time before"

"Are you happy about living here?" Asriel asked, trying to understand what Patta's new way to look at life was. Patta shrugged, thoughtful.

"Don't get me wrong, being here in the Underground still is a major pain in the neck and I hate it. I'm not going to let it drag me down, that is all"

At least that was a better attitude than the unbearably pessimistic one Patta had the day before, and Asriel welcomed that change. Seeing Patta so cheerful made him light up, feeling it helped him get ready for what was going to happen that morning. The day before Toriel had asked him if he wanted to do something special for Frisk's burial. Asriel felt it was only appropriate to give an adequate farewell to Frisk. He didn't know much about human funerals, so after getting some information from Toriel – really? Humans buried their dead? – Asriel had requested a single thing: where Frisk would be buried. Everything else would be up to Toriel.

Toriel arrived not too long after breakfast, entering the inn room to pick up Asriel. "Are you ready?" she asked solemnly. Asriel replied affirmatively, put on the cloak and picked up the container with golden flower seeds he had brought from the surface, but before he could leave he was stopped by Patta.

"Asriel, wait" Patta took a deep breath "Let me go with you two"

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you feel more comfortable staying in here?" Toriel seemed surprised about Patta wanting to come to the burial, after the way he had acted the day before, she had thought Patta would refuse to leave the inn room in fear of being found out by everyone.

"I'm completely sure. I owe it to the kid, it's only right I'm there to give them a final farewell" Patta said. That really was what he felt, but a more selfish part of him wanted this as a way to seek closure for his guilt for leading to Frisk's death. Just because he had finally faced himself didn't mean his perceived sins were gone. Toriel was hesitant to allow Patta to come, so Asriel decided to intervene.

"I want him to come too, Mom" Asriel said "He was Frisk's friend too"

"If he's sure then I don't mind" she replied kindly, pleased to see Patta had stopped moping pointlessly. After she made sure Patta was wearing the cloak so no one would notice his species the three left the inn and returned to the castle, where Asgore was waiting. Asgore took the time to ask Patta if he had slept well, and requested information about what humans would think of monsters. He was happy to hear that Asriel being over the surface had received mostly positive reactions, that was auspicious for monsterkind as a whole.

"Are you coming too, Dad?" Asriel inquired, really hoping he would. He felt like he wanted as much support from his family as possible, but the negative answer he received was something he had half-expected, too. Someone had to stay and do the work as royalty, after all. Knowing how his parents were surely Toriel had brought up how she had done heaps of work the day before, so now it was his turn. That was how it usually went.

After a while Asriel, Toriel and Patta left the castle, Toriel carrying the coffin with Frisk's body in it. Patta offered to help carry it, but his stiff right shoulder made it very difficult. Asriel and Patta refused to look at the coffin, its mere presence causing an unpleasant atmosphere. To avoid any sort of curious looking from anyone, Toriel had led them through a long route that left New Home and went into caverns that didn't seem to be visited often. It was for the better, a procession formed by the Queen carrying a coffin and followed by two tall beings draped in gray cloaks didn't exactly seem harmless and inconsequential.

The three walked until they reached a river, where a boat was waiting, piloted by a…a cloaked person. Patta stopped, surprised, but Toriel and Asriel boarded the boat as if it was no big deal. "Don't be scared, Patta. It is safe" Toriel offered a hand to help Patta board the boat. It took a moment for the boat to sail with Patta sitting and a bit nervous about it all. "W-Where are we going?" Patta asked weakly, clinging to his seat as strongly as he could.

"To the Ruins, dear. This river doesn't go all the way to where we'll perform the burial, so we'll have to stop in a nearby region" Toriel explained "From there we'll walk into the Ruins"

"I see…" Patta noticed Asriel seemed to be pretty melancholic, maybe from what the three were going to do, but Patta felt like there was something else behind that. It was possible Patta was going to see why in just a moment, so he stayed silent about that.

-ooooo-

The Ruins were very purple and seemed to not to have much traffic, despite the access to the Ruins being wide open. The snowy section of the Underground the three had just finished crossing had been annoyingly cold, as expected. Patta had asked how it was possible there was snow and more seemed to fall from time to time, and the only reply was "magic". Toriel really had taken many precautions to avoid any inconveniences. She was able to find roads that weren't likely to have bystanders, and often hurried Patta and Asriel to not to look around and hurry up.

"It has been a while since we spent some days here" Toriel commented, taking a moment to look around the dusty Ruins house "Two or three years, right, Asriel?"

"I don't remember…" Asriel felt a bout of nostalgia. This was the place where his family used to come to spend some days at, in the time the kingdom was calm and didn't give as much work as it usually did. That had been why he had thought of the Ruins as the place to bury Frisk at, besides this place being secluded and not having a large population. He didn't feel in mood to talk about it.

The trek through the Ruins was an uneventful as the rest of the trip through the Underground had been. Asriel had stayed near Toriel all the time, preferring his mother's silent support to Patta kind of ignoring him. Patta was satisfied with looking around, passing through the puzzles and wondering how it'd all be if Toriel weren't deactivating them while she passed. The spike puzzle seemed particularly dangerous.

It wasn't long before the three arrived to a dead end. From a hole, high on the ceiling, sunlight illuminated the center of the natural chamber they had arrived at. The place didn't look like anything special, at least to Patta, but Asriel had saddened even more than he had been during the trek to the Ruins. A few tools had been left to a side of the chamber, most likely during the day before in preparation for the burial. "Would you like me to do everything?" Toriel quietly asked Asriel, who nodded and retired to a side. Patta once again offered to help, but Toriel insisted him to not to overexert himself, at least not until he had gained more mobility on their right arm. Not having anything to do, Patta sat aside Asriel.

Asriel had closed his eyes, refusing to watch Toriel proceed with the burial, while Patta forced himself to not to look away. It was nothing complicated or luxurious. Toriel opened a hole in the ground with care, right in the center of the area illuminated by sunlight. Once the hole was judged to be appropriate, Toriel opened the coffin and conscientiously took Frisk's body, wrapped in a mantel, and delicately placed it in the hole, burying it with care.

"Rest in peace, child…thank you for being my son's friend" Toriel murmured once the burial was complete. She took a moment to silently honor Frisk's memory before stepping away, approaching Asriel and Patta "Asriel, if you still want to do it…"

"I will" Asriel stood up, holding the container with the golden flower seeds, and slowly walked to the grave. It took a moment for him to start, but he crouched and started planting the seeds all over Frisk's grave. While he was doing it, Patta noticed he was murmuring something, too low for Patta to distinguish any words. It seemed like a private conversation with the grave, Patta supposed, a moment he shouldn't interrupt.

Toriel took the now empty coffin. "I'll take this away. Please stay here" she requested to Asriel and Patta before leaving the chamber. Asriel finished planting the seeds and retired aside, inexpressive. There was silence for a while until Asriel sighed.

"A few years ago I found this place…I couldn't believe the sunlight could get all the way down here. I spent like an hour or two there…lying on the ground and staring upwards. From the Barrier usually I could see the sunset light, but here is where I could _feel_ it…how warm it is…

…I thought Frisk would like to be buried here…" Asriel started had started sobbing again. Awkwardly, Patta patted Asriel's shoulder, staring at the grave all the time. After a minute or so of sobbing Patta decided it was time for him to speak what had been tormenting him for a day already.

"Asriel, I'm sorry for what happened to Frisk" Asriel seemed to be about to say something, but Patta shook his head before he could say a word "Let me speak! I'm trying to say I'm sorry about that, because I feel it's my fault this happened. I should have made Frisk stay behind in the city, but I figured there was no harm in they coming, that as long as they were with me they'd be okay. Heck, I even though they would have followed us! No matter how I see it, I feel I could have done more to stop them.

So…yeah, I wanted to say sorry" Straight to the point. Patta had finally told Asriel exactly how he felt. It hadn't helped to lift his own spirit as much as he thought it would, but there was no taking back any of that. Asriel didn't reply immediately.

"Frisk doesn't blame you. They think they should take responsibility for their death"

"I'd like to think they'd say-"

"Do you want them to say it to you?" Asriel didn't wait for Patta to answer. He took a deep breath, and then something changed. It wasn't like there was a physical change, or that Asriel's voice had changed. It was subtler than that, Asriel's expression turning more neutral and composed than it had been a second before. The monster wiped his tears and faced Patta.

"Hi. Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault"

Patta struggled to find his voice. "…Frisk? H-How can you be-"

"Something about multiple SOULs being in one body, I don't know" 'Frisk' smiled "I remember what you told me a few days ago. You feared causing another person's death, but if you keep thinking it's your fault you will never let it go"

"…yeah, I realize that" Patta smiled wryly "I still felt I needed to say sorry to Asriel, and I did, so…" he exhaled through his teeth "So that is all. I won't forget you, Frisk, and I'll always feel what happened was kind of my fault, but I won't let it chain me down. Will you be okay?"

"I will" 'Frisk' seemed to be rather flippant for someone sitting just a few feet away from their grave "Azzy's dad will find a way separate my SOUL from Azzy's. Until then I'll be with Azzy"

That got Patta quiet for a second. "Since you're here I should apologize to you too"

"Oh?" 'Frisk' stopped smiling. Despite being dead it seemed Frisk still held a burden, so to say "…don't do it. Trust me on that. Me being on that mountain was something I wanted. I wouldn't have let you stop me, and I convinced Azzy to back me up" the blunt way they said that got Patta on guard. As if 'Frisk' had sensed his thoughts they looked at him straight to the eyes "Don't ask Azzy about it"

"…okay, I won't" It was hard to refuse when a dead child was telling you not to, even though Patta was worried about what Asriel and Frisk may have talked "Will you tell me, then?"

'Frisk' tilted their head, pensive. "No. Sorry"

"…fine" It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be done about that. Besides, now that Patta was finally feeling closure regarding his guilt, he sensed his eyes were welling up with tears "I-I'm so glad I got to talk with y-you again, Frisk…I'm really, really glad…" he said before suddenly hugging 'Frisk'. It was true he was actually hugging Asriel's transformed body, but Patta truly believed Frisk was there. 'Frisk' hadn't expected Patta to do something like that, but didn't push away, instead timidly wrapping their arms around Patta and patting his back.

"Don't give up, Patta"

"I won't. I won't run from anything ever again. I'm done with running away" Patta said. Neither of them realized Patta's SOUL had finally recovered the red shine it should have, having found the determination that should have led his life from a long time ago. He separated the hug, chuckling "I wish I had known you better, you weird kid"

"I wasn't weird!"

"You were, don't deny it" Patta stood up. He had been about to say something else when he noticed Toriel standing nearby, watching with what seemed to him a mix of poignant sadness and fond amusement. When she saw he had seen her, she waved at him. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Does it really matter?" Toriel asked gently. She understood that had been an important moment for Patta, but she understood Frisk must have felt this was something they needed, too. Asriel, Patta and Frisk had all needed closure to their feelings and all of them had reached it.

"…I suppose not" Patta admitted. Behind him Asriel stood up, having taken back control of his body. He seemed much more at peace than he had been while coming.

"Thanks for helping me, Mom!"

"You know you can count on me for anything" she said, making sure Asriel was wearing the hooded cloak well enough to hide his face and let him go ahead. It was time to return to New Home. Surely the Riverperson would be waiting for the three of them, as Toriel had arranged. Toriel and Patta walked behind Asriel, talking quietly.

"…he is taking all this much better than I thought he would" Patta admitted, pulling the hood to make sure it was well placed. Toriel smiled, proud of her son.

"Asriel is a strong child…I wish he didn't have to face the death of a close friend at such an early age, but I'm proud of how he's dealing with it. He's growing up so fast…"

And it was true. It was undeniable Asriel had been insurmountably saddened by Frisk's death yet now he was taking it admirably. Patta supposed the fact Frisk's SOUL was within Asriel for the moment helped the prince deal with it better than he would otherwise.

When the time to separate the SOULs arrived both Toriel and Patta were sure Asriel would be able to let go without regrets.

* * *

 **Tag change: Formerly Neutral Gender Protagonist Oc - Male Protagonist OC**


	35. End of the Line

**This chapter was quite difficult to write, for a myriad of reasons. Not only it introduces concepts that are kind of complicated and are about magic and stuff, it also intertwines very vague canon events into the story and, well, what happens to a couple characters may be kind of a risky move. Let's do it.**

* * *

Asriel was a bit worried about how the rest of the day would go. The day before he had managed to keep his nervousness suppressed, but now that it was matter of three hours before his past self was sent back in time to complete the time loop. Just because he knew it had happened did it mean everything would be okay? Although he wanted to think nothing bad would happen he decided to talk with Asgore, at least to confirm there was nothing to be worried about. When the three returned to New Home Toriel asked Patta to stay in the castle instead of taking him to the inn. Asriel took the chance to go see his father.

Thankfully when Asriel entered the throne room it seemed he had caught Asgore in one of his idle moments. Either he had finished all his work already or he was tending to the plants as a way to calm himself down. That is what he usually did when he felt stressed by something, and judging by the way he looked tense and jumped in surprise when Asriel entered the room he was under a lot of pressure.

"I talked with Dr. Gaster about what will happen today" Asgore informed once Asriel and he were sitting down among the flowers "It seems he has everything under control, but there's something I'd like to ask you: why did you go to the CORE laboratory that day? …I mean today?"

That was right, Asriel had forgotten that detail. "You said you had something to do there, and you invited me to go. I just wandered around and walked into Dr. Gaster's laboratory" It sounded almost stupidly simple, as from Asriel's perspective it had been something that happened just because he had been curious enough to explore around. Asgore nodded, understanding what he had to do.

"Right. Dr. Gaster has been tasked with finding a way to separate your friend's SOUL from your SOUL, but it's likely it'll take some time. From tonight on you should be able to return home and continue your life with as much normality as possible. The problem would be to keep this under wraps from everyone" It was likely everyone would start wondering where the prince was, and there was no reason for the prince to appear so changed. Lots of questions would be asked and it'd be matter of time before someone theorized it was because Asriel absorbed a human SOUL. It would all be a scandal, to say the least. Asgore promised Toriel and him would think of something.

"If there is nothing else you need to tell us about the past you I think you should stay in the castle until tonight" Asgore said. That wasn't what Asriel expected, he had thought he'd need to do something else to ensure the timeline would go like it should go. The king was very serious about keeping Asriel away.

"Dad—"

"Dr. Gaster has made his own research and he says you need to stay away from the laboratory. The risk of past you seeing you would be too big. Don't worry, Patta will help Gaster to ensure the timeline goes without any problems"

Patta? Was it unavoidable to involve him in all this? It wasn't that Asriel didn't trust Patta, it was that Asriel hadn't thought the human would have anything to do about all this. "What will he do?"

"I don't know. Dr. Gaster was very emphatic about that. Let's trust he knows what he's doing. Besides he wanted to meet the human, it seems he believes that studying Patta's SOUL will allow him to understand it better. The Barrier would be broken much quicker" Asgore didn't really understand Gaster's rambling, but that was the central point of it all. At least the king managed to obtain the promise that neither Patta nor his SOUL would be hurt in any way.

"…okay, Dad" Asriel really would have preferred to help, but Gaster was likely to keep it all in control. Besides, the closer the moment came, the more restless Asriel felt. He felt there was something he wasn't understanding yet, something that was important.

It felt like he had forgotten something.

-ooooo-

Toriel knew too what Gaster had said. Once Asriel was away she got ready to follow the scientist's instructions. It pained her to have to keep certain details hidden from her son, and she knew Asgore wasn't pleased with having to do it either, but it seemed it was necessary. Asgore had been tasked with keeping Asriel in the castle while Gaster and Patta talked, so now all she had to do is take the human to the CORE laboratory. "Patta, there is someone I'd like you to meet" she started.

It was true Asgore had mentioned the Royal Scientist had expressed interest in meeting Patta, but he had thought it had been no more than an offer, a way Asgore had to express his support for the human. Toriel was making it sound like Gaster was _relying_ on him. Refusing wasn't an option, was it? After Toriel was finished Patta nodded. "Sure, I'll meet him. Is he someone I can trust?"

"Dr. Gaster has Gorey and I's trust. I can't say I fully understand the situation, but I do believe he knows what he is doing…and that he can't do it without your help"

There really wasn't another option. Hard to refuse when Toriel said it like that.

Toriel escorted Patta to the CORE laboratory, noting that it'd be unlikely anyone would see him once he was in the laboratory. However, she also recommended to take off the cloak once he was with Gaster, as it wouldn't make sense to hide his species from the scientist and his assistants. They'd know to not tell anyone until Patta was officially introduced to everyone in the monthly address. While Patta felt a tad uncomfortable about not having the cloak, he decided to trust and hope for the best. It wasn't long before Patta was left in front of the Royal Scientist's office in the CORE laboratory.

Meeting W.D. Gaster was certainly a new experience. It was true Patta had noticed monsters had a huge variety of forms and different species, but he had never expected to see a skeleton. Patta stood in the entrance, staring at Gaster with flabbergasted expression. "Welcome, human! Please, don't just stand there! Come in!" he sounded like meeting the human was the highlight of his week. Patta had barely stepped inside the office when Gaster stood up and strolled right to him, giving an energetic handshake with both hands. The feeling of cold bones gripping his hand was strangely unsettling.

"I, uh, I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is—"

"I know your name, Patta, and believe me when I say the pleasure is all mine" Gaster's grin somehow got bigger. It'd take a while for Patta to get used to the Royal Scientist, this first meeting was overwhelming. Gaster invited Patta to sit down to discuss the situation, pushing a bowl of monster candy towards his guest "I suppose you are aware of the situation regarding the prince?"

"Time travel? Toriel said something about that" Patta took some candy "I don't understand any of that—"

"Then allow me to be your guide in the ethereal intricacies of the concept of time" Gaster opened a drawer of his desk and took out a large thread, extending it from edge to edge of the desk "Time could be considered a linear concept. Just because it is linear it doesn't mean it is set in stone, the truth is that the future is mutating constantly to adjust to the present. Don't think everyone's fate is predestined, because that isn't true" That was comforting. Gaster pressed the center of the thread with his finger and continued his speech:

"But for the present to exist first it needs all of this" Gaster moved his finger along the thread, all the way to the edge of the desk "Either it happens or it doesn't! And usually that wouldn't be a problem, but it seems that, for some reason, our beloved prince has put everything we know and love at risk"

"…are you trying to say Asriel did it on purpose or something?" Patta did understand Gaster's timeline explanation so far, but he had a hard time believing Asriel had been willingly involved in it all.

"No, I doubt it. Asriel seems to be no more than a bystander in this mess. It doesn't really matter; the point is that his situation is astronomically unusual. If Asriel doesn't get thrown into the past and over the surface, the present could stop existing. It would be a disaster of immeasurable scale" Gaster lowered his voice conspirationally "My personal theory is that everything and everyone would stop existing, and since there's one single timeline in existence, it would mean the entirety of our reality would be completely and irreversibly obliterated"

Patta said nothing at first. The way Gaster put the possible result of the past going awry had been terrifying to him. Did Asriel know about it? "…I-I see. How will you ensure that doesn't happen?"

"Oh, my bad, did I say _I_ would do it?" Gaster raised his hands in a mock gesture of surprise "What a misunderstanding we have here! No, buddy, I'm sorry to inform you that _you_ are the one who will mess with the timeline. _You_ will be the cause and solution to this conundrum. I will intervene too, assisting you on this task, but you have to understand you are the one to do everything. So let me ask you:

Are you prepared to ruin and fix the timeline at once?"

It took a while for Patta to process everything Gaster had said, and even then, the first thing he said when he opened his mouth was "Come again?" It took another patient explanation from Gaster for Patta to finally grasp what was expected of him. Feeling the weight of the unbelievable burden that had just been placed on his shoulders, Patta flopped onto his seat, staring at the ceiling. "…you have to be kidding. What question is that?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I say no, then I'm condemning reality to disappear. Why do you even ask if I'm going to do it no matter what?" After all it was undeniable Asriel had gone back in time. Refusing was literally not an option. Gaster nodded, standing up.

"I have to apologize for my theatrics. I suppose I got a tad too giddy about all this"

"…don't say sorry, it is fine" It had been overwhelming, but strangely appropriate. In a way it helped Patta to get a bit more comfortable around Gaster "I don't understand how I'll be able to do it"

"It is nothing complicated" Gaster led Patta out of the office. While there were a couple hours left before Asriel arrived it was a good idea to get going already "My investigation showed it is possible to open a portal into the timeline thread to get to a different point in the past. I don't need to clarify it is extremely dangerous, and no one in their right mind would do it. However, this is a special case. All you have to do is open a breach in the thread right at the moment Asriel appeared in your house"

"…'nothing complicated?'

"It isn't complicated! The catch is that only someone with a connection to the place one wants to open a breach into can do it. As you can imagine, only the present Asriel and you would be capable of doing it"

"Why isn't Asriel doing that, then?"

Gaster paused for a moment before replying. "Last night I took the time to examine the timeline, and everything seemed to indicate the most appropriate person to do it was you. Asriel had his own problems to deal with" He still didn't know what Asriel was going to do that involved entering the void too, but saw no problem on letting it happen. Patta didn't ask how Gaster had determined that, but now he was starting to feel there was something going on. Slowly, his memory brought back the strange tale Asriel had told him when Patta met him.

After some time, they arrived to the entrance of the laboratory where Gaster's invention was located at. They didn't enter, instead stopping to a side. "Patta, are you informed about the qualities of the Barrier?"

"I know you'd need many human SOULs to break it"

"Good! I have an offer for you: allow me to study your SOUL. The results could allow me to understand and harness the energy of SOULs. The Barrier could be broken much sooner than we expect! Besides you'd earn the gratitude of monsterkind, you'll be accepted in our community much quicker" Gaster shrugged "As you can suppose this won't hurt you in any way, I promise you and your SOUL will receive the utmost care during the studies. In exchange, you'll be handsomely paid. Do you accept?"

There it was, the offer Asgore had said Gaster had in mind. Patta had expected something like that to be what Gaster wanted, but hearing it directly from him made it all more real. After asking Gaster to once again promise there would be no harm for his SOUL, Patta nodded. "…I accept"

"…that was much easier than I thought it'd be" Gaster admitted "Do you have interest in science?"

"I'm more into biology. A friend gifted me a book about monster biology, since I'm down here may as well learn about that!"

"You have chosen a complicated field of study. Due to the variety of forms monsterkind has – as well as the magic that is essential for us – it's quite a difficult topic" Gaster grinned "I can lend you some reading material about that later. For now, let's meet my companions in the quest of science!"

Patta was brought into the room and introduced to all of Gaster's assistants., as well as a young monster that seemed to be there out of curiosity for science. While Patta was courteous all the time, he didn't pay that much attention, his mind was reeling back onto Asriel's tale. The more he thought about that, the more worried he got. Gaster presented the human as 'our new study subject', and led him to a side.

There was nothing else to do other than waiting.

-ooooo-

The laboratory was a large place, with many machines of indeterminate function. Blueprints and photos cover the walls, and a window showed the cobalt blue interior of the CORE. To a side there was a large portal-like contraption, so tall it reached the ceiling, it was currently turned off. It was every bit what anyone thinking of 'high-tech laboratory' would imagine.

There wasn't a lot to see or do, though. There was work to do and none of it was on the human, so Gaster and his assistants all went back to their work. The young monster – seemed to be a lizard without arms - was the only one who bothered to approach Patta to make conversation, mostly to ask a lot of questions about humans and the surface. After having spent those few days with Asriel and Frisk, Patta had gained a newfound appreciation for children, and patiently answered all of her questions. "I'm Suzy" she had said, sitting nearby and swinging her legs "Isn't this place cool?"

"It's strange, to say the least!" Patta smiled indulgently "But I like it. You come here often to see everyone work?"

"All the time! When I don't have schoolwork. I want to be a scientist when I grow up, the Doctor promised to show me the ropes of the job in a couple years!" Suzy's eyes were sparkling with youthful enthusiasm "I can't touch anything, but everyone lets me look at what they're working with"

"Anything interesting?"

"Do you see that machine?" Suzy turned her head towards the portal-like contraption "The Doctor said it's a portal to the…the…"the innermost workings of our reality". What does that mean?"

"I don't know. It must have taken a long time to build, though"

"It did! The Doctor was building it the first time I came here, a year ago. It took him months! I wish I had been here when it was activated for the first time, but the Doctor made me leave because he said it could be dangerous" Suzy pouted, but didn't let that bother her for long "Hey, do you want to see something neat?"

"What is it?"

"Look at this" Suzy got off the chair and ran to the other side of the room, to the wall covered in photos. She gestured with her head to one of the pictures "The Doctor included me in this photo. He said this made me one of them!"

The photo showed Gaster and all his assistants, sitting around one of the tables. They seemed to be celebrating something, everyone seemed very cheerful. Suzy was in the photo; someone had even given her a labcoat. Although the labcoat trailed onto the floor she seemed ecstatic to be with them. Patta smiled at Suzy's happiness and looked closer. There was someone he hadn't ever seen before with the group, another skeleton. "Who is this one?"

"Him? His name is Sans" Gaster had approached "He works here too, but he has the day off today"

"He's your family, right?"

"…it is a tad conceited of you to suppose all skeletons are related to each other" Gaster deadpanned, the human looked away, a bit embarrassed.

"O-Oh, my bad. So you're not related…"

"I didn't say that either" Gaster said with an impish grin.

"I'm not going to get a straight answer out of you, will I?"

"Perhaps at some point in the future you will!" Gaster gestured at the whole wall "Do you think it's strange to have a wall filled with photos here in our laboratory?"

Patta shook his head. "Why would it be strange? It's to commemorate moments, I guess, that doesn't make it strange"

"It's for more than that. Everyone here has placed photos of their family, of us, of people they like and love. This wall is a reminder of why we're working for, we try to improve everyone's futures. It's amazing how much enthusiasm you have when you have a reminder like this nearby" That was pretty sweet, in Patta's opinion. Everyone had placed a bit of their personal lives on that wall, and sometimes they all had done a contribution as a team. That wall held the reason why they were all working. It felt almost invasive to be staring at the pictures, so Patta averted his eyes just in time for Gaster to pass him a lab coat and an excessively large hood. Patta wished he could have one of those when he met Asriel, it would have hidden the monster's face with no problems at all.

"What are these for?"

"Asriel didn't see you at all before being sent back in time, that is what I understood, but since you and him are going to be in relative proximity it's important you disguise yourself"

That confirmed Patta's impressions about everything. He didn't move for a moment, just looking at the lab coat in his hands, before speaking quietly. "Doctor…are you sure this is the only way? Is there really no…no other option?"

"There doesn't seem to be other ways to complete the loop. You have to be there. I know you're nervous about being near Asriel and having to hide who you are, but it's what you need to do"

"…that wasn't what I meant" Patta muttered and took a deep breath. As he saw it…there was only one way this was going to end, at least as far as Asriel knew. Patta understood there was no other option, but hoped his deductions were incorrect. Refusing was not an option.

Besides, hadn't he promised himself he wouldn't run away from anything? "I'll do it"

"Great! The king called, he'll arrive to the building in ten minutes and he's bringing Asriel"

"The prince is coming?!" Suzy's tail was practically wagging, excited about seeing Asriel. Gaster took her away, asking her not to mention anything about the human, and left Patta alone in front of the wall.

This was it. Everything these five days had led to this point. It was time to take everything he was, everything he had learned and everything he wanted and use it to steel his resolve. "…there isn't any other option" he said before donning on the lab coat and the hood. Since Asriel hadn't recognized him Patta supposed it was all going to be fine.

Fifteen minutes later Asriel arrived.

Asriel peeked into the room, grasping the edge of the entrance and not making a sound. None of the assistants looked towards the entrance, although judging by the way they surreptitiously glanced towards the entrance they knew Asriel was supposed to come. Gaster surely had instructed them, too. Suzy was nowhere to be seen.

Letting Asriel standing there wasn't going to lead anywhere, so Gaster took a moment to calm down and make sure the prince wouldn't have any reasons to believe something unusual was going on. Gaster turned his head to the entrance and waved cheerfully. "Your Highness! Nice to see you again!"

"H-Howdy…" Asriel greeted nervously, perhaps he expected Gaster to shoo him away from the laboratory? "I was just looking…"

"Come in! Do you want to see what we have been working on?"

Asriel hesitated before finally stepping in. Patta had to restrain himself from looking at Asriel, instead trying hard to focus on the nearby objects. While Asriel was given a tour around the laboratory, Patta wandered nearer the portal. On the table right next to it there was a console that seemed to make it function. Making sure not to touch anything from it, Patta read a document that had been left nearby. It was a chart, painstakingly detailed with a lot of stuff Patta didn't understand. The first one had been annotated shortly after the portal's completion, and the latest entry had been just a month before.

 **Anomalies**

 _Original sample: one single timeline. No presences in the void._

 _Change. One presence. Doesn't seem to be a monster – labelled 'Unknown Entity' from now on. One single timeline._

 _Change. Presence is gone. Original sample. Time: eleven minutes._

 _Change. One presence. Monster. Time: Four seconds._

It seemed most of the changes were Gaster entering the void, at least all those that mentioned one single monster presence. Gaster never spent more than ten minutes in the void, and a few notes were scribbled in strange calligraphy along the edges. "Can you read it?" one of the assistants had approached. When Patta replied he didn't understand a single word of Gaster's annotations the assistant chuckled "He invented the code to avoid leaks or something like that. No one outside is interested on any of this, I think he's doing it for fun"

"He seems kind of wacky for someone who is the Royal Scientist" Patta commented, but it wasn't like that was bad. He liked Gaster.

"He is. Let me give you the general idea" the assistant took the document, reading the annotations a couple times "Gaster theorizes the void exists in a different temporal stratus, at least compared to our reality. What our sensors and machines indicate are events that may have happened time ago, and may have lasted much less or much more than what we think. It may have been centuries before it is annotated, it could be a mere hour…all Gaster knows is that every time he enters the void there's one single timeline and no one in there"

Patta continued reading the chart. At some point the entries turned different from the norm and stayed like that for a long time.

 _Change. Two monster presences. One non-monster presence. One single timeline. Seven minutes._

 _Change. Monster presences are gone. Non-monster presence has…mutated. Sensors indicate minor monster qualities. Renamed into 'Anomalous Entity'. One single timeline. Three hours._

 _Change. Anomalous Entity still in there. New presence, primarily monster but our readings are strange. There continues to be one timeline, but seems damaged. There's also traces of a second timeline, somehow. Seventeen minutes._

 _Change: Second unusual presence is gone, Anomalous Entity remains. The second timeline traces continue existing. More timelines exist now. One day._

From there on most of the lines said the same: that the number of timelines had continued increasing at an alarming pace and that the Anomalous Entity continued existing. Those were daily reports, all of them saying the same. Months later, there were two final changes.

 _Change: Anomalous Entity + Unknown Entity. Number of timelines too high to be registered by our sensors. Five hours._

 _Change: Presences are gone. Number of timelines too high to be registered by our sensors. One day._

There had been no more changes. Until the most recent annotation the results had been the same – no one in the void, too many timelines – and it was all too confusing for Patta to understand a single thing of what he was reading. Making a mental note about asking Gaster later, Patta noticed the Royal Scientist and Asriel had finally arrived near the portal.

"…machine allows us to see what is beyond our known reality. It literally allows us to stand outside our universe and observe it!" Gaster was saying proudly.

"Golly…that is amazing!" Asriel gasped, eliciting a chuckle from Gaster. It was time to go ahead and get done with it.

"Would you like to see by yourself? It's breathtaking"

"Can I? Really?"

"Sure, why not?" Gaster jovially answered, Patta snorting in amusement. Sure, why not? Let's push a child inside what may be a dangerous invention! If it weren't for it being intentional Patta would have protested.

Two assistants approached the console and started activating the portal while Gaster made Asriel stay a few feet away from it. "This portal uses a lot of the energy we obtain from the CORE's workings. That's no surprise! After all we're literally exiting our reality. The place we're going into could be considered pure magic…" his explanation went into more technical terms neither Asriel nor Patta understood, although the child politely nodded every once in a while.

A spark blasted from the sides of the doorway before an iridescent membrane formed in the threshold, very similar to the Barrier that was keeping everyone sealed in the Underground. When it happened Gaster excitedly gestured at it with his hand, starting to talk a bit faster. "…by accident while we were studying the qualities of the Barrier. It could be said a similar type of Barrier keeps us all in this universe, and by learning to go through this one we could-"

"Doctor, are you sure this is safe?" Patta suddenly inquired, starting to feel apprehension. The question was actually meant something else: 'Is this safe for _me_?' Somehow exiting the known reality didn't sound like something one should do, and the part of everything being pure concentrated magic made him even warier. He was a human; magic was an enigma for him.

"There _should_ be no problem at all" Gaster replied but approached, whispering a real answer "My personal theory is that the physical matter humans are made off should be enough for you to withstand a 100% magical environment"

"And what if your theory is wrong?"

"…you shouldn't be in that much danger" the scientist didn't seem to have considered anything further than that, much to Patta's displeasure. There wasn't time to reconsider anything "Are you ready, Asriel? This is going to be _historical_!"

"Yes! Let's do it!" Asriel was practically bouncing with excitement, not afraid at all of what could be beyond the portal. Gaster nodded at the assistants at the console and approached the portal. Slowly, he touched the surface of the gateway and let his hand cross it, it didn't seem harder than immersing one's hand in water. Asriel followed his example, although after a second or two the child took a deep breath to gather courage and jumped through the portal. Gaster entered too, inviting Patta to get done with this and pass through the gateway.

The human gulped and approached. "Don't be afraid!" "It's going to be okay" The assistants working with the console encouraged. Knowing it was now or never, Patta tried to cross the gateway, just to find it was much thicker than he expected. It felt like he was pushing through foam. Clenching his teeth, Patta pressed his hand harder until it managed to pass to the other way while Gaster watched, unsure of why Patta was having much more difficulty passing through. "It must be because of your body's physical makeup" he theorized, grabbing the labcoat Patta was wearing and pulling from it in an attempt to help Patta cross. It took a minute or two for Patta to pass through the portal, feeling all the time like something was pressing him from all sides.

The moment he finally managed to pass through felt heavenly, although he immediately started floating, weightless. "Are you okay?" Gaster helped Patta control himself to be able to move as if there really was solid ground underneath his feet.

"I-I think I am…this is very weird…"

"Do you feel anything strange or alarming?"

Patta took a moment to consider that. "I feel…tingly. My skin is tingling" The sensation was subtle, but it was there. It felt like ants were covering every single inch of Patta's body, Patta scratched his arm, achieving nothing.

"Must be the magic around us. It's much more than any human would experience at any point of their lives. If it gets worse then tell me" Gaster indicated and went to get Asriel, who had already walked way, attracted by the golden thread glowing in the distance. Patta didn't follow immediately, feeling a growing spot on his arm tingling more than others, so he rolled up enough of the lab coat sleeve to see it well.

The skin was graying. "…so that's how it's going to be". Asriel's tale didn't show Patta was going to _die_ , but it was certain _something_ was going to happen to Patta, and he knew it. He just hoped that, whatever it was going to be, wouldn't stop him from completing the timeline anomaly.

Outside, the gateway was turned off, just like it was usual when Gaster crossed the portal. One of the assistants was always keeping an eye on the console in case of sudden problems. After a year of nothing noteworthy happening during Gaster's expeditions it was expected nothing would happen, which is why when the readings of the machine started deviating from normal the assistant called everyone else over. "Look at these!"

"This is strange. Was it calibrated correctly?"

"Of course it was! Gaster did it himself. I checked and it's the same as always"

"Maybe we should activate the portal again"

"No"

"Keep an eye on the energy output"

"Do you think there's a limit if people that can cross it in a certain length of time?"

"I'd say it's more likely the human is causing some sort of effect in the portal itself"

"Yes, humans are quite different from monsters. Nobody ever considered a human would go through the portal"

"Write down the deviations in the-"

"There was a sudden power spike!" The assistant handling the console got some distance away from it when the machine shot out an electric arc, although it was soon gone. No one approached the console for a minute, until it seemed that wasn't going to continue happening "This can't be good"

-ooooo-

Twenty minutes remained.

"Are we all ready?" Ananas inquired, getting behind the wheel of her car. Cohen, Byssa, Celia, Graham and Ciruel were with her. It hadn't been easy for her to take a decision, but she had decided to take a chance and go look for Patta. Until the last moment Graham tried to convince her not to do it, but she had insisted she couldn't just leave a friend lost on that mountain.

She had gathered provisions, loaded her gun and carried a lot of extra ammunition, and everybody else had their own ways to defend themselves against anything that could be on that mountain. Celia and Cohen were the only ones to reply with energy, the others being more reluctant. "Then let's do it!" Ananas declared, starting the car.

They'd get to Mt. Ebott in an hour.

-ooooo-

Fifteen minutes remained.

It wasn't like the Asriel knew it, though. All he knew was that there was an impending _something_ he needed to stop. That was why he was currently running to the inn where he had spent the night.

 _"What are we looking for, Azzy?"_ Frisk inquired. Asriel had hurriedly spouted a few disjointed sentences and gone away running. During the stay at the castle Asriel had tried his best to remember everything that had happened during his visit to the CORE laboratory and in the void, but since it had all been five days ago he didn't remember all the details. Frisk had helped, asking questions and encouraging Asriel, but not much was achieved. There were just a few things Asriel was completely sure of:

Patta was the person he hadn't known and he was in possible danger, the past Asriel – or present Asriel, he wasn't sure how to call the other version of himself – was going to get attacked by something and Gaster had ran away _. "He may not have run away!"_ Frisk had said.

"Then where was he?! Why wasn't he helping me or Patta?!" Asriel had shot back.

 _"I don't know…something happened somewhere else?"_

"Somewhere else?! There was nothing else in that place!"

 _"Calm down, Azzy, you're freaking out"_

Asriel realized he had been grabbing his head in panic. Feeling their friend needed some time to timeout, Frisk took control of the body, making it sit down. If Frisk could have they would have grabbed Asriel in a tight hug and not let go until it was clear Asriel wasn't going to continue freaking out, but right now all they could do is force Asriel to not to move. _"You're not thinking straight. Are you sure something is going to go wrong?"_

"I'm completely sure, Frisk. I remember what happened before I was in Patta's house. There must be something I can do about it…"

 _"Like what?"_

"Like stop Gaster…?" The other Asriel hadn't done a thing, nor suspected a thing. If anything happened in the void it'd be after the past Asriel got sent back in time.

 _"Do you really think he's doing something bad?"_

"Why else would he be gone? I…I don't want to think he's a bad person, but it does seem he…he…" How to say it delicately? "…like he may not have the best intentions in mind?"

 _"You can't know it. You could be interpreting it wrong"_

"Then what should I do?! Just sit around while som-?!" Asriel's paw moved, covering the monster's snout and shutting him up.

" _You're freaking out again_ " The hand let go of the snout. Knowing Frisk wasn't going to let him continue fretting about what could be happening to Patta, Asriel forced himself to take a deep breath, feeling his muscles loosen.

"I don't know what to do. I'm confused…a bit scared…and I have no idea what I should do. If I had at least an idea of what would be the best—" as if the universe was waiting for that moment of dramatic convenience, the last memory holding together the timeline made its appearance, this time in Asriel's mind. It was nothing amazing. All he saw in his head was himself carrying a bag…

…and then he knew what he should do. Knowing it was time to take action, Asriel took back control of his body. "Frisk, we need to return to the inn"

 _"We do?"_ Frisk was a bit concerned by Asriel's sudden decision. Although they were a guest in Asriel's SOUL, so to say, they didn't have access to his memories and thoughts.

That was why Asriel was running towards the inn, as fast as he could. He knew he had no time to waste, the CORE laboratory wasn't far away but it was going to take a few minutes to get there. The sense of urgency told him there was a time limit. As soon as Asriel got to the inn he practically flew up the stairs, bursting into the room. There, just to the side of Patta's bed, was the knapsack and Patta's empty suitcase. Without hesitation, Asriel opened the knapsack and poured all the content on the bed. The objects he needed were right there. Asriel took all the necessary objects and put all of those inside the suitcase, closing it and running back outside immediately, this time in direction of the CORE laboratory. _"Why are you taking those things, Azzy?"_

"Patta will need all this. It won't save him…but maybe it'll keep him from doing something he'll regret" Asriel knew there were no hopes of arriving in time to stop Patta from being erased from the known universe – if he had interpreted those vague memories correctly - but maybe he'd arrive in time to stop Patta from doing something that wouldn't solve anything.

-ooooo-

"It's so…golden…" Asriel murmured, staring at the thread that was the timeline. As soon as he entered the void he had seen the golden glint in the distance, and since that was the only thing around, he had run there immediately. It was high and seemed unreachable, yet he felt compelled to go take a look inside the timeline.

"Hard to believe this is the timeline, isn't it?" Gaster wasn't sure what to say. Asriel was here, Patta was here…now what? How was he and Patta supposed to complete the timeline now? Should he knock out Asriel or something? Patta had mentioned Asriel had been unconscious when he had met the monster, it was obvious something should be done so Asriel wasn't awake, but Gaster couldn't bring himself to try anything like that. The scientist approached where Patta was examining the timeline, looking for the correct point. "How is it going?"

"I think I'm about to find it. Somehow looking for a single day among eons and eons of the timeline wasn't a quick process, who would have guessed" Patta murmured. The tingling all over his body had intensified, and his hands and arms were completely gray by now. It felt like the desaturation had spread to the rest of his body as well, but he wasn't worried about that. He had already accepted there was a chance the task wouldn't go smoothly, so what mattered was to get it all done as soon as possible.

"Good. Are you feeling okay? Is the tingling gone?"

"Yes" Patta lied "Keep Asriel busy, it shouldn't ta—here it is!" Patta had finally found the morning of the day Asriel had appeared in the house. He could see it, the space under the table was empty one second, the next Asriel was there "It's here. Now what?"

"Now make contact with the timeline. You need to be in direct contact with it to open a rift"

That got Patta to freeze. "Make contact? Like…with my hand?"

"Does it matter? Do it" Gaster turned around to check on Asriel, who had managed to lose his concentration and was now floating, trying to get himself to not to wander away. It should be safe to do this before Asriel noticed there was something wrong "Hurry up!"

This wasn't going to be good. Patta extended his arm, grabbing the exact point of the timeline and revealing the state of his hand. "What?" Gaster grabbed Patta's wrist to take a better look. During the time Patta had needed to examine the timeline the affliction that affected his physical form was worsening. The surface of his hand was riddled with cracks and fissures, giving it the appearance of dry ground. The cracks and fissures also extended to the arm, it wasn't a leap of logic to assume most of Patta's body was riddled with the same texture. "…okay, enough of this. We're stopping now"

"We're not stopping anything! Tell me how to open the rift"

"We're returning to the lab. Your physicality is _breaking down_!"

"But what about the timeline and—"

"Your life is at risk!"

The SOUL was the culmination of anyone's being, it could be said the body was its way to interact with the world. Monster bodies were attuned to the SOULs to the point their bodies could be considered no more than an extension of their SOULs. Human SOULs were different on that regard, and the inherent magic present in the void rejected the physical qualities humans had. Its way to deal with it was simple:

Convert that physicality into an extension of the human SOUL, just like it was for a monster.

Sudden blasts of Patta's being, no bigger than coins, burst from his back, tearing through the clothes and lab coat. His body wasn't flesh and bone anymore nor he could feel pain, the magic that composed the void had finished attuning the body to the SOUL. However, the SOUL wasn't ready yet for the task of keeping together the converted body, so it was starting to violently disintegrate away. The pieces that had burst were like static, crackling softly and shining like stars in middle of the void, all of it sharp as blades. Getting pierced by those would be quite painful, if not fatal.

Acting quick, Gaster focused on Patta's SOUL, his priority being to help Patta keep his body together until it stabilized. The red from Patta's SOUL turned blue, and the parts that had burst started to slowly return to the body. It wasn't going to hold Patta together forever, but at least it should be able to help until Patta's SOUL could keep the pieces of his body together by itself. "It is too late. If we return to the world now I'm not sure what would happen to you—"

"Then let's think about that after we're done with this!" Patta wasn't sure how he was still conscious. At least he knew he wasn't dead **,** despite the change he had gone through. He grasped the timeline again, opening the necessary rift. "Bring Asriel here!"

"I don't think I can get away of you right now" Gaster's influence on the human SOUL was the only thing keeping Patta from disintegrating. Getting too far away could mean losing his grasp on the human SOUL.

"Do something! I can't move from here!"

"I can't either!" Gaster was starting to feel affected by Patta's urgent shouting. Asriel was far enough for him not to have listened a word of what Patta and Gaster had shouted between each other. The scientist tried to focus on Asriel's SOUL to turn it blue too and bring him closer, but Asriel was way too far away "Let go of the timeline, Patta"

"Wait what?" Patta barely had time to say that when Gaster moved, pulling Patta's SOUL along with the blue magic. The hand that had gripped the timeline broke and scattered, the sudden collapse of the hand creating much smaller bursts of static and memories all the way through Patta's right arm. The shapes clouded around Patta and Gaster while both could only watch how the consequence of the hand's collapse got all the way to Patta's flawed shoulder. It all happened during a second or two, but to the both of them it seemed like an eternity.

As soon as the instability caused from the hand breaking reached the shoulder there was a sudden noise of static. Patta's shoulder blade, arm and part of his back and torso all burst explosively, the force of the blast impacting Gaster face-on. The shards hit Gaster, the scientist barely had time to react before the pieces tore through him. "G-Gaster!" Patta screamed while Gaster struggled to stay alive. He didn't care at all he had just lost a large part of his body, or that the shards that had composed it were hovering around them.

"…this didn't go like I thought it would" Gaster mumbled.

"Don't you dare to die!" This wasn't at all what Patta had expected. Patta had come to the void fully expecting something to happen to him, but he had thought Gaster would be okay.

"…it's too late to demand something like that. Listen, no matter what, don't let your body finish scattering away. Once it stabilizes you should be able to reform it back, but I don't…I don't know if you'll be able to return to the w…the world"

"What?!"

"Complete the timeline. That's all you ne…ed to do" Gaster managed to say before he gave up. Just like it had been happening to Patta, Gaster's body disintegrated into dust. The difference was that Gaster's SOUL faded away immediately. Gaster's remains slowly started to spread through the void. The golden thread of the timeline was the only object around, most of the dust coating it and turning Gaster into a constant presence throughout time and space. It guaranteed he wouldn't outright stop existing in the universe, like it'd happen to Patta soon.

* * *

 _He may be doomed to suddenly disappear and be forgotten by the majority of people alive, but at least it would be undeniable he existed. Not that it's much better than what happened to me._

* * *

When Gaster died the blue magic he had inflicted in Patta's SOUL disappeared, the SOUL turning back to its normal red color, but his body didn't continue breaking away. "Stay whole…stay whole. I have to stay whole…" Patta repeated to himself, his SOUL exuding Determination. Slowly, the shards of his body started to be attracted back towards the SOUL, passing through the cloud of Gaster's dust. A small part of those remains coated most of the shards that passed through there, Patta realizing what had happened when the shards returned to his body.

It was as if suddenly there was a second voice in his head. Gaster's essence, contained within the dust, came in contact with Patta's SOUL filled with Determination. Images, people Patta didn't know, knowledge he had never have before, it all flooded his mind, bringing some of Gaster's consciousness into his own being. "What? What's…this wasn't…" Patta started to lose concentration, his body starting to fade away too. Patta's voice started increasing in volume, distorting. "… **ASRIE** i **L,** **C** ha **OME** ve **HERE** to **IMM** s **tEDIATELY** ay whole" Patta froze, startled. That had definitely been a second voice, mixed with his own, barely distinguishable from the faint sound of static that sounded everywhere in the void. He had barely understood what it said, but it reminded him Asriel was still around. Turning around so fast more scraps of him broke away from his body, he localized Asriel.

It was impossible the commotion of Gaster's sudden death and Patta breaking down into pieces went unnoticed, and indeed, Asriel had heard and seen a lot of that. The prince had managed to will himself to be standing, and was now staring at Patta, with his eyes and jaw wide open. Patta wasn't sure how much of it all had been seen – Asriel had told him back at the first day, but Patta didn't remember very well – but there was still something to be done. Still struggling to literally hold himself together, Patta pointed at Asriel. " **W** Do **HAT ARE YO** n't **U** **WA** be sc **ITING** **F** a **OR** red **?** -" his voice was unintelligible, and the way it reverberated in the void didn't help make it sound more welcoming.

Asriel had enough of that. Snapping out of the terror he felt, he gasped and turned around, running deeper into the void. "A **N** sr **OOO** iel **O!**!" This wasn't good at all. Patta wasn't sure if he was going to be able to move. He tentatively stepped forward one, two times, but the movements continued hurting his already unstable body. His legs gave off, noiselessly bursting into clouds of shards. "A **HEL** Psr **ME** iel **!**!" The foreign voice in Patta's voice boomed, loud and clearer than anything else it had tried to say before, and managing to sound deeply desperate. " **HELP ME** W **HELP** **ME HEL** h **P ME HEL** at **P ME HELP ME**? **!** "

The desperation was so clear in his voice that it got Asriel to freeze, again, conflicted. What was going on? He didn't understand anything! But whatever that crumbling thing was – it seemed to be the person that had been with Gaster, where was the scientist?! – was asking for help. It could be a trap; it could be a way to get his attention just to attack later…but Asriel couldn't bring himself to ignore it. Breathing fast, Asriel slowly turned around, fearing that person was going to leap forward and try to catch him. It didn't even have a shape anymore, it resembled vapor and smoke, something crimson red shining in middle of it all. "What c-can I do?!" he shouted back, trying to suppress the fear that had rooted in him.

"Come h **HELP** er **ME A** e **LREADY**! **!** "

"I-I don't know-!" Asriel had swallowed his fear and taken a few steps to return where the unsettling presence was at, but it was too late. As if there had been a sudden gust inside the cloud, most of it was pushed away, the static background noise increasing in volume. The void was glowing. The pieces of that person were glowing like the stones found in the ceiling of some rooms in Waterfall, resembling stars. Asriel stopped moving, staring at the mass of shards. Everything was so confusing he didn't know how to react, but it did seem like it was late for any help. The static, the distorted voice emanating from the cloud, the overwhelming darkness surrounding him, it all confused Asriel. The child could just stare.

Suddenly, the background static noise increased, and the shards that had remained surrounding the glowing red object moved. Those weren't scattering away, instead it moved until it formed a hand. 'What is going on?!' Asriel wanted to exclaim, terrified, but he only whimpered. There was nowhere to run in the void.

The hand shook, as if it was trying not to break down immediately, and started approaching Asriel very slowly. It glided through the void, leaving a trail of sparkling shards behind, while Asriel fell to the floor and tried to scoot away, always looking at it. "…s-someone help!" Asriel finally managed to shout, his voice shaking from the fear.

Nobody came.

The static noise increased again, but no discernible voice sounded beyond murmurs. The hand stopped, just inches away of Asriel. The child was about to cry, looking at the hand with fear. His breathing had accelerated considerably, on the verge of hyperventilating. He couldn't even move anymore, waiting for the strange hand to make a move. He fully expected it to move and try to strangle him, or anything as sinister as that.

When it moved, it did it with a strange gentleness. The hand opened into a palm and gently made contact with Asriel's chest. It was no more than a brief touch, but it was enough. Asriel felt a shock coursing through his body, making him numb and lightheaded. He still didn't understand anything of what was going on, but in a way he felt like he wanted to rest for a while, just close his eyes and forget for a moment about all the weird stuff that was happening. Asriel fell unconscious from the contact, partly because of his fear and partly because that had been the Entity's intention.

What remained of the entity quickly dissolved the hand and moved from Asriel's chest to his back, delicately making him lie down. Bit by bit, every shard that had strayed away approached, swirling near Asriel. It all congealed into a human shape, forming back the body it had before entering the void. It was imperfect, though. Although it did resemble Patta, the Entity's features were blurry and blended in the surface of the skin. Besides it was all gray, formed by shards that, if one looked closely, resembled letters and images, flashing quickly.

* * *

 _A person is formed by their experiences and everything they are and could have been. It ended being much more literal than I thought it'd be._

* * *

"…I' **D** m ve **ON'** r **T** **WAS** y sor **TE** **T** ry, **I** Asriel **ME** … " the Entity murmured, picking up the child. It had all mostly been like Asriel had told him, five days before, but Patta had never expected to lose his humanity and body, or for his essence to be mixed with Gaster's consciousness, or to be doomed to be erased from the universe. At least he was, well, not back to normal, but he was going to survive, even though he couldn't be considered neither Patta nor Gaster anymore. From that point on he was the Entity, a presence fated to not to belong to the reality anymore.

Carrying Asriel was very easy, but the Entity took his time to get near the timeline thread. This was bound to be the Entity's last contact with their home universe, and he wished it could last as long as possible, but he wasn't going to let his own feelings get in the way of doing what needed to be done. When the Entity got to the timeline he levitated until he could just reach and touch the golden thread, but he didn't let Asriel go. Instead, the Entity closed his eyes and focused. Some of the strange component that formed the Entity's body separated and formed a skeletal hand, identical to the hands Gaster used to have. That hand clung to the exact point of the timeline Asriel needed to be inserted into, opening the required portal into it. The Entity held tightly for a moment before carefully placing the child into the timeline. It worked. Five days before, Asriel appeared under a table in a house very far away from the Underground.

It was all done. The Entity was completely alone, there was nothing else to be done. He stayed in silence for a while, just sitting there and admiring the golden timeline thread, until he decided it would be a good idea to deal with the other presence in his essence.

" **S** SO NO **O** **NOW** W WHAT **WHAT?**?"

It was strange. When he tried to say something aloud, the part of him that was Gaster replied at the exact same time. It took him a moment to get the hang of it, but soon he was able to have a very short conversation with him. From what he could assess, Gaster was beyond any help. His SOUL was gone, all that remained of him was within the Entity's essence. The Entity had most of Gaster's knowledge and memories, but no complete understanding of all that, and it seemed that although he had some influence over the Entity's feelings and thoughts, all Gaster could do was serve as a sounding board of sorts.

It was little consolation that Patta, having a SOUL, was the one with complete control over his body.

The first thing the Entity tried to do was open a gateway to attempt to enter back into the timeline despite Gaster's pessimist statement that it was impossible. Unfortunately, it proved to be true, it felt as if some sort of force was keeping the Entity out. A quick talk with Gaster later, it was determined it was because the Entity was too unstable to return back into the timeline, and although making his body stable enough was a possibility, it was unlikely it'd happen before the timeline was healed enough to erase all traces of Patta's existence.

* * *

 _I haven't been able to do it yet. Apparently I'm still 'unstable' and I have long given up on this detail. I don't know how I'm supposed to stabilize my body!_

* * *

When the conversation was over, the Entity replayed in his mind the last few lines.

"IT DIDN'T GO LIKE YOU EXPECTED, DID IT?"

"It didn't. Can I—"

"RETURN TO THE WORLD? YOU CAN'T. WE CAN DIE WHENEVER YOU WANT, JUST LET YOUR SOUL BREAK"

"…no. There must be something else to do here, I don't want to die yet"

"LOOK AT THE TIMELINE. AREN'T YOU CURIOUS ABOUT IT? YOU HAVE THE WHOLE TIMELINE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. FIND OUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN"

That was a better idea than letting himself die, and he had to admit he was curious. With some hesitation, the Entity took a look into the timeline, taking a look near the point Patta had entered the portal in the CORE laboratory. Trying to ignore the pangs of sadness he felt when he saw his former human self, the Entity continued watching. Just after he had entered the portal things had started to go wrong in the laboratory. The Entity watched it all, then focused on other people: the six people he had met during the journey with Asriel.

They had been going towards Mt. Ebott during the time the Entity had been in the laboratory. ' _Are they insane?!_ ' he had thought. A quick glance to the future as it was set for the moment showed what would happen to those six.

"…INTE **INTE** RE **RE** STIN **STI** G **NG** "

It wasn't at all what the Entity had thought it'd be, and what he felt was strangely…not what he thought he'd feel. He thought there'd be relief, joy at seeing the six of them would be safe on Mt. Ebott, that the Hermit wouldn't be able to harm them. Although he did feel all that, there was also a strange feeling of…morbid curiosity…and overshadowing it all, a deep jealousy. It was nice to see they weren't going to die, but at the same time it frustrated him. There they went, putting themselves in danger like that just like Patta had done! And they _survived_! It was selfish to be resentful of that, and to be frank he was ashamed for that, but he couldn't deny that's what he felt.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?"

"…I'll play along with the timeline"

"IS THAT REALLY ENOUGH? ARE YOU GOING TO LET THAT CONTINUE LIKE THIS? DO YOU THINK THIS IS HOW IT ALL SHOULD BE?" the part of him that was Gaster insidiously said. The Entity's jealousy started growing, spurred by that. "FRISK IS DEAD, AND YOU LET ME DIE. NOT ONLY THAT, YOU'LL DISAPPEAR FROM REALITY ALTOGETHER. IS THAT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT?"

"What else am I supposed to do? There's nothing to be done"

"…IT'S WORTH A TRY, ISN'T IT?"

The Entity hesitated. Gaster hadn't been a malevolent person. He always had the best intentions, and he truly had wanted to use his findings for monsters to go free. However, his SOUL was gone. All he was now was _something_ clinging to the human SOUL inhabiting the Entity, and those remains, purely composed of Gaster's will and intelligence, wanted to be alive again, even if it was necessary to drastically mangle the timeline. Was it correct? It didn't matter to him. It was possible it'd change in the future, but for now all the part of Gaster that was there wanted nothing more than the Entity to _fix his death_.

"Again, I don't know how I'll do that!"

"LET ME SHOW YOU HOW…BUT DO YOU THINK IT'LL BE EASY? ASRIEL WILL ARRIVE SHORTLY"

"He won't like this idea at all. I'd have to do it quickly"

"STALL HIM"

"…are you sure this can work? That Frisk, you and me will, in some way…live again?"

"IT'D BE A LIE IF I SAID I'M SURE. I'M A SCIENTIST, I WORK WITH THEORIES, AND DO YOU KNOW HOW THEORIES ARE CONFIRMED? BY RESEARCHING. LET'S FIND OUT.

THINK OF IT AS AN EXPERIMENT"

An experiment…that was a way to call it. It had a lot of risks, but the part of him that was influenced with Gaster proclaimed 'ONE NEVER GETS ANYWHERE BY NOT TRYING'. It really was worth a try, all for the three to survive. "Alright, let's do it. How shall it be done?"

-ooooo-

Six minutes remained.

Getting to the CORE laboratory was easy, Asriel found out. The problem was to find the area where Asriel had gone through the portal. It had been five days since that happened, and it wasn't like he had paid much attention to the layout of the CORE. Asriel wasted a lot of time running in circles and trying to find a way. It didn't help that Frisk was pressuring Asriel the more time passed. _'I think we passed through here. Try the other way. The other way! Azzy, this wasn't what I meant!'_

"That way would lead us to the entrance of the CORE, Frisk!"

 _"No, the way to the entrance had exposed wires on the right side. This was on the ceiling"_

"All the hallways look the same!"

Asriel had ditched the cloak Toriel had given him. The heat of the CORE was unbearable when one was covered in fur _and_ wearing a thick cloak. It was true it was a risk to show his presently unsettling form, but it was a risk Asriel was willing to take. Luckily, the CORE workers weren't in the hallways, most likely working hard in the deepest parts of the place, so no one had been alarmed yet.

The prince turned to the left in once another bifurcation and stopped immediately. A few feet away from him there was someone. It seemed to be a child, not having noticed his presence. Asriel started backing away slowly, trying not to be noticed. _'Try asking them'_

"Asking them? Seriously?"

 _"We can't continue running around! We won't find the lab unless we ask!"_

Frisk was right, and Asriel had to accept it. The sense of urgency wasn't gone, although Asriel had no idea what exactly was supposed to happen, he still felt he should hurry. Nervous, Asriel approached the child. "Excuse me? Uuuh…"

Suzy turned her head around and gasped, moving backwards and tripping, falling to the floor on her tail. She managed to stand up despite the lack of arms and having fallen on her back, and ran towards the corner. "Wait!" Asriel called "Where is Dr. Gaster's lab?!" The girl hid behind the corner and peeked, unsure. Asriel didn't sound like he was dangerous, but his appearance had been quite distressing to see.

"…m-mister, are you-are you feeling okay?"

The question surprised Asriel. "Uuuuh…yes?"

"You look sick, mister…" That was the best way Suzy could think to express concern over Asriel's current physical form. Better to not to risk offending him.

"I'm fine!" Asriel barely repressed the urge to pull from his own ears, frustrated "Where is the lab?"

Suzy hid behind the corner. "It's over here…p-please don't shout at me…" Asriel followed Suzy through the hallways until they arrived to hallways that seemed familiar to the prince. As soon as Asriel noticed it, he walked faster, getting to the door.

Twenty seconds remained.

Inside the laboratory, Gaster's assistants had turned on the portal. It had continued emitting electric arches, and to help relieve the increasingly erratic behavior, they turned the machine on hoping it'd help direct the electricity productively. The assistants were talking to each other while they tried to stabilize the console "…doesn't usually take so long. Do you think something may have happened to him?"

"He must be okay; he's just taking his time"

"But normally he would be back by—"

Asriel ignored the scientists' conversations and instead ran towards the portal. If Gaster had entered, that could only mean Patta had gone in too. "Wait! Mister!" Suzy shouted, not too far behind and getting the assistants' attention. Before anyone could move to stop him Asriel crossed the portal, turning it even more instable. The iridescent gateway trembled before collapsing, the readings from the console turning alarmingly high "What was that?!"

"Deal with that later, the machine is about to—"

"Suzy, get out of here!"

"W-What?"

"Turn it off and then back on! The energy is accumulating!"

The assistant closest to the console obeyed, but that proved to be a mistake. As soon as the gateway opened again, it started quickly expanding. In matter of milliseconds, it grew until it engulfed all of the laboratory and part of the CORE hallways. The iridescent bubble shone for a moment before imploding soundlessly. The assistants and Suzy inside didn't even have time to realize what was going on before it was all over. The bubble shrank in size almost instantly, everything that had been inside disappeared from the present reality.

The labo r atory and every on e inside ha d been displaced fr o m the tim eline.

A nd t hen it e n ded.

The tim el i ne was ov er . . .

. . .

. . . fi ve da ys re mai n ed. Th e first day w as lik e any other. There was nothing special, no big thunder or a sudden earthquake-

* * *

 _It's possible 'over' isn't the right word, but there's nothing else to see in the timeline itself. It's likely nothing else exists. It's a five-days long loop, that's all that's left from the timeline I came from._

 _What I'll tell you now is what happened after Present Asriel entered the void. Believe my word about it, don't believe it, it doesn't matter._

 _This is what happened._

* * *

 **It's official. The story is in its last phase.**


	36. Overmyth

Crossing the portal to the void was something Asriel had never thought he'd ever do again, partly because the thought of repeating the experience made him a bit sick. While what he remembered happening five days before – from his time – had been confusing and to this point he wasn't sure what exactly happened, it didn't change the fact he had been very scared. Thankfully his memories of that were muddled, the fear tempered, but he still felt ready for something horrible to happen as soon as he entered the void.

Just after Asriel entered the void, the portal closed behind him. He didn't notice, though, there was something that immediately caught his attention: a gray, winding part that seemed to be about to crumble down at any moment. It started right in front of Asriel, and went into the dark distance. Far, far away, Asriel could see the endless golden thread that was the timeline. "What is this…?"

 _"Was this always here?"_

"No, it was all empty. This didn't exist" Asriel looked around as if he expected Patta or Gaster to be standing nearby "Frisk, what do we do?"

 _"Let's follow the road. This is in like that old story! At the end there'll be a wizard, and—"_ Frisk started a long diatribe about an old story they had listened once, while Asriel stepped forward and hesitantly laid one foot on the start of the road. He wasn't sure what the path was made of, it seemed like millions of tiny particles barely sticking together. He could swear some of those showed images of places and people that seemed vaguely familiar.

The sensation of the path against his foot was almost surreal. It felt like a constant electrical current was coursing the pads of his foot, not strong enough to bother but it was noticeable and felt slightly unpleasant, and walking on the road felt like stepping on thousands of tiny sharp pebbles. It was a completely new experience, but it wasn't like there was turning back now. "Here we go…"

 _"I'll be with you all the way"_ Frisk reassured. Feeling a strange warmness in his chest, Asriel started walking on the road. He soon got used to the weird sensation underneath his feet, so instead he focused on what was in front of him. The path ascended in a wide spiral, there was a gigantic plateau fully composed of that grain and the only way to get on it was to follow the path. Getting to the top of the spiral was easy, and once he got there Asriel could see the extension of what was on the plateau.

"…what is this place…?" he murmured, astonished by what he was seeing.

 _"Is that Mt. Ebott?"_

The plateau was the base of a recreation of Mt. Ebott, fully formed by the strange gray shards, and just on top of it, the golden timeline was glowing. Technically, it was possible for Asriel to simply try to levitate all the way to the top of the false mountain, taking advantage of the strange properties of the void, but Asriel felt there was a reason why it all existed. It felt like there was meaning about the unexpected apparition, his curiosity beckoned him to follow the road up the mountain instead of taking the easy way. After allowing himself a moment to be impressed by the size of the false Mt. Ebott, Asriel continued the trek, arriving to the base of the false mountain after a few minutes. Waiting there, right where the road started ascending on the mountain, was Ananas.

 _"Annie?!"_ Frisk exclaimed, momentarily taking control of Asriel's body and making him run towards the figure. It was indeed a recreation of Ananas, just like Asriel remembered her, although it was gray and looked like it was going fall apart in a second. The false Ananas smiled warmly and started talking.

"A long time ago, monsters and humans fought a war and monsters lost. They were confined underneath Mt. Ebott, and for centuries it seemed there was no way out"

"…what?" That definitely wasn't what Asriel expected to hear, and the calm and nonchalant tone she spoke with wasn't one he had ever heard her using before. The fact the voice wasn't hers, but a male voice Asriel felt he had heard before didn't help make the situation any less odd. It sounded like Gaster's voice, distorted to make it sound different than it usually did.

Ananas continued as if Asriel hadn't said anything. "So how did Asriel escape the mountain? For the moment that didn't matter. It was more important to get back to the Underground. He couldn't do it alone. Two humans decided to help him, providing Asriel of the company and friendship he'd need to endure the journey"

 _"Do you understand what she's saying?"_

"I think she's telling a story about me, but why?" Asriel waited for Ananas to continue. Instead, she nodded as if she had completed a meaningful mission and faded away. Frisk gave Asriel a few words of encouragement before Asriel started climbing the false Mt. Ebott, following the path. When he encountered a gray Celia, similar to how Ananas looked, Asriel correctly supposed the story would continue.

Celia stood straight as if she was going to recite in front of a large crowd, and intoned: "It wasn't an easy task, but they were willing to do it. Slowly, Asriel discovered humanity first-hand, and the humans accompanying him started to become better people. It was a journey meant to be optimistic and light-hearted.

Asriel and the humans met different people, helped them overcome their personal problems, and gave hope to them. Slowly, humanity also discovered the existence of monsters, the base of a bright future was set"

She vanished too. Frisk had been silent while Celia spoke, discomfort emanating from their SOUL. "Are you okay?" the prince asked them. It took Frisk a moment to say they were okay, just a bit melancholic about seeing Celia again.

By now it was pretty much confirmed the story the false humans in the void was Asriel's story. It was a bit odd how it kept referring to Patta and Frisk as 'humans' instead of using their names, but there was nothing to be done about that. When Asriel reached a replica of the plateau near where the Hermit's caves were located at, he stopped. "Is Patta trying to make me remember everything that happened?"

 _"If he made this mountain trail then yes…he's reminding you of our journey"_ Frisk agreed, pensive _"I don't know why he would do that"_

A false Graham was waiting for Asriel in front of the caves. "But something went wrong. The human child lost hope, and didn't let Asriel nor the human adult help them. The journey continued, and bit by bit, the child continued losing hope, until they thought there was only one thing left for them: their friendship with Asriel"

Pangs of regret coursed through Asriel's heart. He did know Frisk had practically thrown away their life over the surface to try to come to the Underground, but he hadn't thought it was because Frisk was despairing. Frisk went silent again, and this time nothing Asriel said got them to say anything. Starting to feel like he had a large weight in the pit of his stomach, Asriel continued trudging up, finding Byssa.

"Unfortunately, the journey that once seemed nice and full of hope went wrong. The child died, and the adult was forced into the same fate monsters had suffered centuries before. Unknown to them, the disappearance of Asriel's companions planted the seeds of doubt in the people who had believed in monsterkind's good will, and distrust started to grow again.

Everything positive that had been achieved…was for naught"

For naught? Was that serious! But it had seemed humans were going to accept monsters! Asriel hadn't really considered how people would react when neither Patta nor Frisk returned from Mt. Ebott. He had also forgotten there had been people waiting for them, the word about their disappearance would spread. "…did I ruin everything?" Asriel sought reassurance from Frisk.

 _"It wasn't your fault, Azzy"_

Asriel nodded at that, not fully convinced. Now that things were not as much about his journey over the surface, he was paying more attention now. What did that voice know about what happened? Asriel wouldn't have been so worried if Patta were nearby, there was still no sign from his friend.

When the monster noticed he had now walked into the main road on the false Mt. Ebott, the one that had been near where Frisk had died. It felt like he was reliving those moments, the same tension was in the air. There was no other noise other than a faint background sound of static, and Asriel was sure he could hear that because of his affinity to hear low-volume sounds. It felt like a constant presence, and the only relief was that it didn't feel menacing like the Hermit's had been, but despite that it was still pretty uncomforting.

Ciruel was at the bifurcation where Frisk, Patta and Asriel had been separated back in the real mountain. "The adult managed to stop himself from despairing, and not too long after that, he found out he'd be the one who would cause Asriel to be over the surface. Achieving it came at a great cost, the adult was banished from reality. Some would think it was worse than being dead; he was doomed to be erased from the timeline, and to do that first there would be a great upheaval in the fabric of time and space:

 **The creation of alternate timelines"**

Ciruel vanished, leaving Asriel immersed in his confusion. In less than a minute he had received confusing pieces of information, and he had no idea where to start with them. "He got banished from reality…so that's what happened to Patta!"

 _"You knew it'd happen?"_

"I felt something would happen, but I didn't think it'd be something like that…" The last set of memories that had been inserted in his mind did show Patta would endure something, and that it'd be likely it'd be irreversible, but he had let himself hope it wouldn't be as bad as this. What was the suitcase full of stuff for, then? Nothing in there would fix Patta or help him return to reality!

 _"We'll see him again. Let's keep going, Azzy"_

"…right" A bit dispirited, Asriel continued the trek. Where was Patta? Was he okay? The closer Asriel got to the summit of the false Mt. Ebott the more nervous he felt, as if he expected something horrible to be at the top. When he got to the point where the path bifurcated towards the Barrier, he started to hear something else: a heavily distorted voice that sounded like two people were trying to talk at the same time. On the path, Cohen was standing, blocking the way upwards. The gray teenager pointed at the golden thread that could be clearly seen from where Asriel was standing.

"A new timeline would spawn from the remains of the first one. The new timeline would be one where the adult never existed. And what would happen to the old timeline? It's unclear. The only thing confirmed is that no one would remember the adult's existence. There could be worse effects.

If you had the power to change the past, would you do it? Even if it meant making everything null? Even if it meant condemning yourself to an unhappy existence? Even if there's no guarantee it'd work?" he recited before vanishing. Asriel had no idea what to say. The false Cohen had asked that for a reason, that much was obvious. Was that what Patta wanted to do, and therefore what he and Frisk needed to stop? Without bothering to reply to Frisk's concern, Asriel continued on.

Just before the summit was on sight, the last person to see was blocking the way. Asriel unconsciously prepared his magic to defend himself if necessary, it was a false version of the Hermit. They didn't even look at Asriel while saying just a few words before fading away, those words were all that was needed to confirm Asriel's recent fears:

"We would.

What will you do now?"

Asriel stopped. That was the big question, what was he going to do now? He did know he was here to stop Patta, that was why he had the suitcase and all, but he didn't really understand the significance of that action. What was he supposed to say? Would he need to restrain Patta or something? Despite the summit being just a few feet away, Asriel didn't continue. Going back wasn't an option, and going forward scared him. Biting his lip, the monster stepped back and sat down.

"Frisk, we…we're going to have to fight Patta, won't we?"

Frisk didn't reply to that at first. Encouraging Asriel seemed like the priority. _"Why do you think that?"_

"You heard what they said! Patta wants to change the past…should we let him do it?"

 _"Do you want him to do that?"_

"I don't want that! But I don't want to fight Patta, he's my friend…what should I do?" Asriel slouched and held his head, closing his eyes "What would you do?"

 _"Don't ask me that! Azzy, if you don't want him to change the past then don't let him"_ Frisk said, and before Asriel could say anything they continued _"You shouldn't let your friends do whatever they want"_

"…what? What do you mean?"

 _"I should have listened to you when you tried to convince me not to go to the Underground. If you had fought a bit harder maybe I'd have stayed in the city…but instead I died"_

Asriel opened his eyes. "I really could have stopped you?!" Frisk must have felt the guilt that had started to build up, because they immediately backpedaled a bit.

 _"Tha-That's not what I meant! What I mean is that you shouldn't let him do that if you don't agree…I…I think I ruined what I was trying to say"_ Frisk was just a child, trying to explain themselves and encourage Asriel. How were they supposed to word it? They didn't really fully understand what they were saying! At least it seemed Asriel more or less understood the point.

"That isn't the same thing"

 _"I don't know what else to say. A lot has happened and I don't know how to deal with it. I'm sorry…"_

Asriel nodded. "Golly, Frisk, I think I get it. I'll try my best…I just hope I won't have to fight"

 _"What'll you do if we have to?"_

"…then I'll do it, I guess. I won't like it, but I will do it" For the wellbeing of everyone in the timeline. The monster stood up. It was time to get done with it once and for all.

 _"Azzy, you're my best friend. I'll be with you until the end"_ Frisk added. Asriel grinned, his eyes watering up. He hurried to dry the tears, grinning. Despite the circumstances and the perspective of having to confront a friend, he felt deeply grateful for Frisk's support.

"Thanks…you're my best friend too"

-ooooo-

Creating the false Mt. Ebott had been a lot more hassle than it should have been.

Why did the Entity do that? He supposed it was because he wanted to delay Asriel's arrival, have more time to think, inform Asriel of what was going on – even though he had been forced to borrow Gaster's voice for the false copies, managing to remove the distortion just enough to for him to talk clearly enough - and despite having achieved all that, he didn't feel any less nervous. He fully expected Asriel to oppose his decision. The part of him that was Gaster didn't understand why he wanted to wait for Asriel to show up, though. They had been arguing for a while already, refusing to move towards the golden timeline while Asriel arrived.

"BY NOW YOU COULD HAVE DONE A LOT OF PROGRESS. DO IT ALREADY!"

"I said I won't"

"ARE YOU DAFT? THE PRINCE WON'T ACCEPT IT. HE'LL STOP YOU, AND YOU'LL LOSE YOUR CHANCE"

"I know!" to be completely honest, the Entity was hoping Asriel would be able to convince him not to go ahead. It was true Gaster had suggested the correct procedure to modify the timeline well enough to turn it into a timeline where the loop didn't ever happen – therefore Frisk and Gaster would live and Patta would be alive over the surface…miserable, but alive, while everyone else they met would be as if they never met Patta nor Asriel – but the Entity didn't feel confident about it all working very well. After all, Gaster had admitted he wasn't sure about it, and that there was a risk the consequences could be quite dangerous for reality itself.

Besides there was something else, too. "…I also want to see Asriel and Frisk again. They're going to be pretty much my last contact with the timeline, if this doesn't work. I want to at least say goodbye"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"It's bad enough already that I couldn't even talk to my parents one last time! My family…for them it'll be like I never existed…"

"I CONCEDE _MAYBE_ YOU HAVE REASONS TO BE DISPIRITED BUT—"

"And since Asriel and Frisk are here then may as well talk to them just one last time! We know they'll forget me once they return into the timeline no matter what. This is the last time we'll remember each other" the Entity pretended to sigh. It was impossible, not having any breath at all "I just…I just want to talk to them, to both of them"

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT, BUT I CAN'T CHANGE YOUR MIND EITHER. DO WHATEVER YOU WANT"

After that, even though the Entity tried to talk, nothing came out of his mouth. It seemed that the strange quality his voice had made it impossible for him to talk unless Gaster was willing to say anything. Not having anything else to do other than waiting, the Entity steeled his determination and tried to organize his thoughts, what he'd say to Asriel and how this all could end.

Asriel arrived just a few minutes later. The Entity stared at the misshapen form of the monster in front of him. Asriel's body still was strange and frankly unsettling to look at, but the Entity knew that it still was the monster child he had escorted through half a world, the kid he considered to be the one to have kickstarted his mindset change and who he had grown to think of as a dear friend, despite only knowing him for five days. Of course, the Entity hadn't forgotten the _other_ child that was in front of him: Frisk, whom had been a valuable support, whom the Entity couldn't imagine _not_ meeting, and whose death he still felt responsible for.

It was extremely difficult for the Entity to accept the last time he'd see Asriel or Frisk would be there.

"…HEL **THE** LO **RE** , ASRI **HE** E **IS** L " the Entity said. Asriel winced, the static in the voice hurting his ears. The Entity thought fast, moving his arm. Part of the mountain disintegrated, the shards that had been forming it whirling behind him. Methodically and trying his best to stay calm and not show signs of panic, the Entity moved part of the shards to form words in front of Asriel:

 _Is this better?_

Asriel read the words and hesitantly nodded. Satisfied, the Entity dispelled the words. It was going to be uncomfortable to not to be able to speak, but at least he'd be able to communicate. "Patta? Is that…is that you?"

 _Yeah, it's me._

 _I'm happy to see you again!_

Although the Entity's face didn't change expressions, Asriel could see the being's face twitching, as if he was repressing a big smile. "…Patta, what happened to you? You're…"

 _I'm not dead. It's a long story._

"What about everything those copies of our friends said? What was all that about?"

The Entity didn't reply immediately. He fidgeted, looking around as if he expected help to come from somewhere, but it was useless. He had to answer.

 _I thought you'd like to know what I intend to do._

That was what Asriel had feared. It was one thing to hear it from false copies of all the humans he had met, and it was something entirely different to hear it from Patta himself. Asriel shook his head, raising his voice. "Why would you do something like that? I thought you said you wouldn't run away from anything ever again!"

The Entity's expression soured. It was difficult to see, due to the way his features blurred and almost melded with his face, but the shards forming words started moving abruptly and dangerously fast.

 _I'm not running away from anything! This is the opposite._

 _I'm going to take action!_

 _Can't you understand that?!_

"I kinda do, but…" Asriel waved his hands, unsure of what words to use "This doesn't seem right to me! Frisk doesn't like it either. There must be some other way…"

 _Do you even know why I'll do this?_

 _It could fix everything._

 _Everyone will survive in the modified timeline. That should show you how important it is._

"Everyone? What do you mean?" 'Everyone' seemed like a kind of excessive word to define three people. The Entity's shoulders slumped. He didn't like the perspective of lying through omission, but it was going to be necessary.

 _…Ananas is bringing our friends to Mt. Ebott._

Asriel opened his mouth to shout, but he was too stunned to say anything, and Frisk was still leaving the control of the body up to the monster, but their opinion was resonating in their SOUL. That was practically a death sentence! What was she thinking?!

 _They're going to look for Frisk and me._

 _Remember the legend: the travelers who climb Mt. Ebott never return._

"…so you…you're going to try to fix that?"

 _Yes! They'll live, Frisk will live, Gaster will live and I will live._

 _It'll be better than trying to continue living in this timeline._

Minutes passed. Asriel was staring at his feet, trying to understand the grim news he had just received. The thought of the six people he knew being killed by the Hermit was terrifying, and a large part of him wanted to let Patta change the timeline. _'I'm not sure that's the solution, Azzy'_

"What else can we do?" Asriel inquired. The Entity, thinking he was asking him, gave his answer too.

 _Trust me_ said the letters in the void.

 _'Stay determined'_ said Frisk.

That settled it. Asriel raised his head, defiant. This was no time to doubt himself, or doubt what he wanted. It was true he wasn't sure if it was even the right thing to do, but it's what he felt was the right decision. It was what his heart was guiding him at. "…you can't…"

 _What? I didn't hear you._

"You can't do that! I know this isn't how it should have gone, but there must be some other way other than changing the timeline! Patta, this can't be the only way!"

The Entity scowled. While he had expected Asriel to be against it – and welcomed it – it didn't stop him from getting annoyed.

 _If I tell you it's the only way, then it_ is _the only way._

 _I know what I'm doing._

"Maybe you do, but I'm sure it's not the only option we have. You're ignoring other possibilities!"

 _Such as what?_

 _Tell me a single one, then!_

"Let the timeline continue as it is" Asriel demanded, staring straight at the Entity's blurry eyes "I can save them! I have Frisk's SOUL, I can cross the barrier and keep them safe. They'll be okay!" Hearing that stirred different emotions in the Entity's SOUL. At first there was relief, because that was something that made some sense. If there was someone who could save their friends it'd be Asriel, after all, hadn't he saved him from the Hermit before? But other emotions started to overshadow that relief.

First it was fear and worry: Asriel, leaving the Underground to put himself at risk? What if something went wrong? What if the Hermit got the better of him, somehow? After everything that had happened during these five days it'd be stupid and useless if it all ended because Asriel made a mistake and got killed by the Hermit! That'd definitely be the worst possible event he could think right now.

And then there was the deep wrath. It was most likely a combination of both Gaster's lingering will and Patta's own wishes things hadn't gone this way, but a part of him wanted to take Asriel and shout directly to his face that this was a betrayal. How could he leave two of his friends dead when it could be solved?! What about Gaster?! The worst part was that he knew this was likely to be a very selfish feeling. He knew Asriel was right in a way, that there were other options, but those rational thoughts got shushed by his rage and feelings of impotence. The Entity's hands twitched, the shards that had been lazily drifting behind him starting to swirl in a vortex.

 _Are you insane?! You'll die if you return out there!_

 _How can that be any better?!_

"I won't die! I-I won't let it happen. I can save them, Patta!"

 _You can't guarantee you can!_

 _It's too risky!_

"It's better than having to change everything that has happened so far!" Asriel shouted back "We can make something good happen!"

 _No one will trust you out there._

"They are our friends!"

 _How will you excuse Frisk's death? My death?_

"I…"

 _How will you explain you have Frisk's SOUL?_

"I don't—"

 _See?! You have no plan! This won't end well!_

"But I don't want our future to be out of our control like that! Let me help them!"

 _Future?!_

"We can continue despite everything! I know Frisk and I can! Everyone can have a good future!"

"TH **THERE'D** ERE'D BE N **BE** O FU **NO F** TURE **UTU**! **RE!** "

The Entity hadn't realized they had gotten progressively angrier until he shouted that. Asriel was taken aback by the sudden outburst, his mood subsiding. It was clear this wouldn't get anywhere if they continued shouting at each other like that. The Entity would have sighed if he could. He seemed to be feeling guilty for everything he was saying, but Asriel wasn't sure. It was difficult to read the Entity's expression.

After a moment the Entity raised his arm, letters forming in the void again.

 _…there'd be no future. If anything happens to you…it'd all have been for nothing._

 _I don't want that to happen, Asriel…_

While it was true part of the Entity's reason to try to modify the timeline was the wish to change his fate, he did want Asriel to not to put himself in danger. Martyrdom wasn't a smart idea and the Entity knew it now, although martyrdom hadn't been his intention when entering the void. Still, if there was anything to be done that could avoid Asriel sacrificing himself when there were other options, he'd try.

"What do you wanted to do, Patta? I don't get it very well yet…" Asriel asked mutedly.

 _I was going to make it so you never appeared at my house._

The Entity didn't have to say anything else, Asriel understood the implications. Those five days wouldn't have existed at all. Patta, Frisk and Gaster would live, but at what cost? It'd mean everyone would remain unchanged.

Patta would continue living a miserable existence. Ananas would continue treating life as a game of favors, uncaring unless it directly affected her. Frisk would continue living with Celia, having to depend of his own wits and other people's charity to survive. Celia would continue alone, without a family to depend on and waiting for a miracle that may never come. Graham would continue hating humanity, yet smiling and pretending he hadn't lost all faith on everyone. Byssa would continue blaming herself and Mt. Ebott for a couple dozen people's deaths, letting those feelings eat her up from inside. Ciruel would continue at the mercy of his SOUL, forcing himself to trudge through life. Cohen would continue being in the Youth Troop, being with friends that he may or may not be better without.

…and Asriel…he would continue living in the Underground, unaware of the world above the surface. Compared to what everyone else would go through it wasn't like he'd be unhappy or sad, but Asriel knew something for sure:

Those few days over the surface had, at the very least, set the bases for him to grow differently than he would have otherwise. In just five days he had seen the many problems people have, how humans would react to monsters, he had accepted the need to defend himself, he had sympathized with people, he had been mistreated by other people…all that was important. It had all been for the better.

Asriel felt he was a better person because of all that.

"I knew stopping you was the right thing to do" Asriel smiled wryly. The Entity nodded.

 _Asriel, if you're going to save our friend then you must prove it to me._

"What?"

 _Prove to me you'll be able to survive, that you won't let yourself get killed. That's all I ask for._

"We're going to have to fight?" For a moment Asriel had thought it wouldn't be necessary, but it seemed those hopes had just been trashed, but he wasn't able to guess what exactly was the Entity's intention:

It was his last attempt to get away with his plan. Defeating Asriel would give the Entity enough of an excuse to get away with modifying the timeline, arguing Asriel wouldn't be able to survive, and if he lost the fight then…well he'd have to accept it. Even though the part of him that was Gaster was trying to influence him to backstab Asriel if the Entity lost and modify the timeline anyways, the majority that was Patta didn't want to. He owed the kid that much respect, at the very least.

 _We do. I won't…I won't hold back._

 _I'm sorry, Asriel, it's just that…_ the words faded away, being replaced after a moment of 'silence':

 _…I don't know. Sorry. Whenever you're ready._

Asriel nodded sadly. So that was how it was going to be. _'What's the plan, Azzy?'_

The monster murmured low enough for the Entity to not to hear him. "We'll fight, but there's no way I'll attack him. I just need to show him I can _survive_. That shouldn't be too hard…right?"

 _'I know you can do it'_

"Thanks, Frisk…" Asriel looked at the Entity, talking with a tone that showed he had intention of backing off. "I'm ready. Let's do it!"

The Entity didn't respond. Instead, the ground started to shake. Asriel had forgotten the whole false mountain was formed by the same strange shards the Entity's body was made of, and since the Entity had full control of it all…Asriel tried to get away, take advantage of the void's strange properties and will himself to float away, but he couldn't move fast enough. A large part of the summit of the false Mt. Ebott formed a large wall in front of him, which then moved towards Asriel, pushing the monster far away. Although it was done forcefully, Asriel could sense the Entity was taking great care in not hurting him at all despite the constant static-like current the shards were directing into Asriel's fur.

"P-Patta, wait!" Asriel tried to push against the wall but he couldn't stop it from getting him as far as possible from where the Entity had been. Once the Entity judged he had been far enough, the wall dissolved, all the shards returning to where the Entity was. Asriel was left there, floating. In the distance the golden thread of the timeline glowed, and in front of it, a whirlwind of those strange shards moved in spirals.

It was the end. Neither Asriel nor the Entity had any ill intentions towards each other, but the both of them were determined to win. Reality itself was at stake, as well as the lives of countless people, although both of them only knew how it'd affect just a few. Asriel fully believed not changing the timeline was the right decision, and although he didn't like it, he was going to protect the timeline even if fighting against his friend and temporal caretaker was what he needed to do.

Once the Entity got Asriel far away from the timeline – he didn't want to risk it getting damaged – he started to gather every single piece of shard that was in the void. The body he had created to face Asriel crumbled away, the red SOUL being the only thing left. He knew Asriel wouldn't give up easily, but that didn't mean he intended to make it easier for the monster. First things first: intimidation. If the Entity could manage to make the task of defeating him much more overbearing than how it actually was, he hoped he'd have the advantage over Asriel. For that purpose, he gathered the shards and connected everything in that way that formed what he envisioned now: something intricate. Something impossibly large. Something endless. Something he thought Asriel wouldn't get pass through no matter what:

An endless cycle.

The shards formed paths and streams, curving and converging into one same central mass. Curiously enough, the Entity's form started to resemble a tree. Branches connected to the roots, roots connected to the trunk, and the trunk divided into countless branches, and in the center of it all, _one single red SOUL trapped in his own creation's eternal nature._

 ***This can't be the end.**

 ***Azzy…**

 ***Stay determined.**


	37. Remembrance

Asriel gripped tighter the suitcase with the stuff he had brought, managing to pass his arm through the large floppy handles so he wouldn't lose it. He had expected the Entity to start attacking relentlessly, but what he didn't expect was the strange form the Entity had taken. In the center of a hole in middle of the trunk of the eternal tree, there was Patta's SOUL, and from what Asriel could see…it was no more than a SOUL, with just 30 HP. Despite the control the Entity wielded not only over his own remains but also over the timeline, it was astonishingly weak compared to virtually all monsters and many of the humans Asriel had met.

The environment of the void was disorienting, too. Asriel was floating, and he knew he could will himself to move in any direction. It felt like being underwater, not having anything to hold onto.

Attacking the Entity wasn't an option. Even though Asriel had no ill intention at all, he feared the power provided by Frisk's SOUL would be too strong. Then how to stop the FIGHT? Was this a test of endurance, did the Entity expect him to attack back, what was he supposed to do?

There wasn't time to wonder about that. Three branches broke, a crackling noise resonating in the void, and quickly crossed the void towards Asriel. ' _Watch out!_ ' Frisk shouted in Asriel's head. The monster moved immediately, gasping and barely getting out of the way of the first branch. One of his curved horns scraped it when it soared above him, and while it didn't hurt him in any way, he felt the static shock emanating from it _. 'H-He almost hit you…'_ Frisk had thought the Entity wouldn't dare to try to attack Asriel, but clearly they had underestimated the opponent's determination to get away with their timeline mangling.

Asriel didn't even have time to reply to Frisk, the other two branches arrived mere seconds after the first one. Dodging those was easier, Asriel managed to keep his distance. The branches didn't get too far, immediately halting and returning back the exact way those had come through. "Woah!"

 _Are you going to defend them by dodging? Really?_

Although the Entity had just 'said' that in the air, he had his own mental turmoil about the fight. 'I can't believe I'm trying to beat up a child…' they were thinking over and over.

Asriel frowned a little after reading that. "I'm not—"

 _"Catch him, Azzy!"_

As if Frisk had momentarily taken control, Asriel's body moved forward towards the intricate web The Entity formed. That hadn't been what the Entity had expected. Bristling and dragging back the broken branches, the Entity retreated. Asriel didn't try to use his magic at any point, but the Entity continued retreating, trying to keep his distance from the monster. Noting this may be a way to end the fight soon, Asriel accelerated, avoiding any stray shards that detached from the Entity's form.

It wasn't long before they got back to the golden thread. The Entity suddenly changed direction in order to avoid colliding against it, hovering above it as if daring Asriel to come any closer. It almost worked: Asriel hesitated to approaching. Taking advantage of the opportunity, The Entity's roots circled around Asriel, trying to ensnare him. ' _Get closer!_ ' Frisk ordered. Asriel moved before the roots closed onto where he had been floating a mere second before.

Being so close to the timeline didn't seem to deter the Entity. He stopped, wrapping itself around the timeline and starting to slide over it.

 _That's it. Enough of this._

The Entity's constant near contact with the timeline itself started distorting the void around, images emerging and forming . Asriel stopped, looking at the scene that had started to take over the emptiness. It was Patta's home, the place he had awoken at, the place that kickstarted the journey, albeit almost in complete grayscale.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Entity attacked.

Below Asriel and the timeline several spheres formed, following Asriel's movements. Without warning, a few of those sphere shot upwards, completely missing Asriel and leaving a trail of shards. "What?" The attack didn't make sense to Asriel until all the spheres that had ascended exploded, dividing into several smaller spheres that rained all over the place. Asriel flew to a side, narrowly avoiding one of the scenes. It crashed against the timeline, a sizzling sound emanating from it. "Patta! Be careful!" he shouted just before one of those spheres hit him on top of his head.

Pain coursed through his head. Asriel moved to a side, dazed, right into the trail of a recently ascended sphere. It felt as if he had crashed against an extremely cold waterfall. He could feel his HP going down, not by much, but he was definitely suffering damage.

 _'We can't dodge all of those!'_

Frisk was right, there were too many falling all around Asriel. The monster dodged three more before gathering fire magic in his hands. The moment one of the falling orbs seemed to be about to crash against him, Asriel launched what he intended to be a single ember to destroy it. Instead a large amount of embers sprung from his hand, completely obliterating the orb. The surprise at his own power got Asriel dumbfounded for a second, the whooshing sounds of the last remains of the Entity's attack bringing him back to reality.

Aiming at the falling shards was easy, and Asriel managed to protect himself against several spheres that would have otherwise hit him. The timeline was hit many times; it didn't seem to receive any damage.

That's when Asriel realized he had accidentally forced the issue. By driving the Entity back to the timeline, he had worsened the situation. He had to make sure the timeline was safe. Clenching his teeth, Asriel didn't reply, but he really hoped this fight wasn't going to make everything much worse than it should have been.

The image changed. Through the hazy forms of the static all over the void, Asriel distinguished planes beyond a window, wide and large open halls, signs dangling from the ceiling…it was the airport.

For a moment Asriel could swear he could hear the sound of planes and the noise of the crowds. The Entity, once again noticing Asriel had been distracted, used his own memories to create his attack:

A familiar shape emerged around Asriel, snapping him out from his brief daze. A huge white mechanism formed, Asriel being in the center of one of the bullet chambers. _'What is this?'_

"Don't worry! I got it covered!" Asriel told Frisk. The attack started spinning at high speeds, the walls between the chambers turning orange to force Asriel to keep moving. He wasn't going to let it stop him, though. Asriel gathered a lot of magic before releasing it in an explosion, shattering the Entity's attack and freeing himself. The heat of the fire warped the illusion of the airport, shattering it and briefly showing the timeline underneath him. The vision didn't last long.

The airport melted away to reveal emptiness. The void had taken a beautiful light blue tone, white cloud-like masses of shards moving under Asriel and the Entity.

The clouds swirled around Asriel, getting blurrier until it was a vortex of sharp pieces threatening to close onto him. Managing to keep it all at bay through skillful use of stars, Asriel moved upwards, leaving the vortex while it crumbled away thanks to his magic. His pupils shrank in surprise when he saw what was awaiting him.

From the center of the Entity's web, a fast ray of fragments was shot towards Asriel. There was no time to dodge, instead Asriel retaliated, creating a constant stream of fire magic. The fragments and the fire collided, hissing resonating through the void, but it was undeniable Asriel was _much_ stronger than the Entity. The fire overtook the fragments ray, turning it back towards the Entity and making it crash right on the SOUL.

The Entity took the damage stoically, not letting it deter him, although the whole structure he had created around him shook and threatened to fall apart. It took him all his concentration not to let that happen.

The alleys of the city formed, and although it was only an illusion, Asriel felt kind of constricted by the narrow passageways.

"We have to keep moving" the monster encouraged himself and moved forward, once again trying to reach the Entity. The roots of the Entity swelled before bursting and releasing round bullets, bouncing towards Asriel. The bullets acquired a cyan color, forcing Asriel to stop moving, opportunity the Entity took advantage of to move further away.

The dilapidated house Frisk and Celia had lived in formed in the void _. 'Azzy, why are we…'_

"I don't know!" There was no time to discuss exactly why so many familiar places were showing in quick succession. The Entity, having gotten far enough, charged up another familiar attack. Large white and cyan knives, resembling toy knives, formed high in the air and low below Asriel, moving like guillotines. Asriel, a bit unused to his larger size, was struck by some. The damage was minimal, but Asriel did let out a short scream of pain at the electrifying contact with the shards forming the knives. Right before the last knife impacted against Asriel, it suddenly changed colors, turning green. The little damage the Entity had caused on Asriel since the beginning was immediately healed.

 _We don't have to continue, Asriel._

 _Let me take you back into your world._

 _I'll change it all. It'll be over quickly._

 _It'll all be okay._

"I won't leave yet!" Asriel shouted in response to the Entity's written words. For a moment the circulating fragments all over the Entity's actual form slowed down, taken aback, but after a few seconds their speed returned to normal.

 _I didn't know you were so stubborn._

The foyer changed, turning into the ruinous bedroom. Asriel felt pangs of regret and sadness emanating from his SOUL, Frisk undoubtedly felt wistful after seeing the place they had shared with Celia, but in a way the sight reinforced their determination. _'…Azzy, we can't let anything happen to her'_

Asriel would have replied something supportive, but the Entity moved forward with unexpected speed. The roots and branches disconnected for a moment before he pounced on Asriel, the infinite tree the Entity had formed focusing on restraining Asriel. The monster's wrists were bound in front of him, completely immobilizing his arms, and the Entity's roots wrapped around Asriel's torso. Behind him, something flickered into sight.

The timeline thread had appeared among the floorboards of the dilapidated bedroom, shining like a beacon. A tiny portion of the Entity's fragments separated from the trunk, slowly getting to the timeline. The blob morphed into a skeletal hand and grasped the thread, immediately opening a rift that led to the Ruins. Once it was open the Entity practically threw all his weight over Asriel, attempting to force the monster towards the rift. Asriel tried to resist, boosting himself in the opposite direction, but although the Entity lacked strength, he still had a lot of mass and weight.

Asriel could only see the fragments all around him, pushing him further and further towards the timeline. The more it continued, the closer the Entity's SOUL got to Asriel, until the child could feel the warm emotions radiating from that red heart. The determination, the intense frustration, and underlying it all, a desperation that remarked the Entity was pouring all his efforts into this. Did the Entity truly believe this was all for the best? Asriel wasn't sure, but he could feel the Entity was forcing himself to fight Asriel, that he didn't want to hurt the child and that it all was done more because he felt backing off wasn't an option.

"Patta, I want to help you!" Asriel pleaded. The Entity did slow down, making it a bit easier for Asriel to push back and away of the timeline, but it was matter of time before the Entity overwhelmed Asriel "You don't have to modify anything…I…" The monster looked away from the SOUL. "…I don't want to disappear or be a different Asriel…"

That got the Entity to loosen considerably the branches and roots he had been restraining Asriel with. The skeletal hand on the timeline shook in outrage, but the Entity ignored it, instead letting it crumble down. The rift closed down. Asriel took the chance and pulled his wrists away, effortlessly getting out of the Entity's grasp. He didn't go away, though, instead staying close to the SOUL. "Patta, are you okay?"

The Entity didn't reply to that, but Asriel did notice what he had said before really had affected the Entity. Most of the determination and frustration Asriel had felt from the SOUL were gone, instead replaced with a deep sadness. "Patta?" Asriel extended his hand towards the SOUL. Maybe…maybe he could save Patta's SOUL too. Absorbing it was an option, wasn't it? And that would mean Patta would be again inside the timeline, he wouldn't have to be erased…even though Patta's body wouldn't exist anymore. Perhaps the scientists could build bodies for Frisk and Patta? "Patta, I think I could help—"

The SOUL moved away, having guessed Asriel's intentions, and soon the branches and roots interlinked again.

 _Don't._

There was a kitchen now, quite large and clean. Asriel remembered it, it was one of the few moments where Patta, Frisk and him had just let their worries to get to Mt. Ebott aside and enjoyed each other's company. Cooking pies…that had been a nice moment. The Entity noticed the environment too, his branches dropping wistfully. He recovered quickly, getting away of Asriel. Underneath the monster, fragments of the Entity formed into flames, which started to shot upwards. Asriel noticed the flames were quite lacking in vivaciousness and intensity, and the Entity seemed to be telegraphing what ember would shoot upwards. It was rather easy to just float aside and avoid the attacks, but in the time Asriel did that the Entity had gone away again. "Patta, wait!" Asriel called and started the pursuit again.

The more Asriel moved, the void darkened more, the kitchen distorting into streets. What looked like lampposts in the darkness decorated the sidewalks, its light illuminating the Entity as he moved away. Parts of the branches were fading away, Asriel having to avoid them. The situation changed unexpectedly, those fragments returned and swarmed around Asriel like bees, trying to touch him and deliver the usual electric currents Asriel was getting familiar with. _'We'll get overwhelmed at this rate!_ ' Frisk warned when more of those fragments started surrounding Asriel, moving around him in circles, getting closer and closer. Asriel looked around, alarmed, and moved his hands in fluid motions around himself.

Just like it had happened when Asriel had done when he had confronted the Hermit, a wall of fire formed around him. The fragments hissed in contact with the magic fire and retreated, returning to the Entity. It was all much easier than Asriel thought it'd be.

Asriel could see roofs, streets, the mountain at the distance. It was the sight Asriel had seen from the roof of Frisk and Celia's house, that morning when Frisk had reaffirmed their friendship with him with a nickname and telling stuff about their past. The fragments took colors that reminded Asriel of the sunrise.

Straight from where the sun would have appeared if it had been a real dawn, strands of fragments emerged, taking orange and cyan colors. It was clear it was again stalling efforts while the Entity continued getting away, but it wasn't like Asriel could avoid the attacks. Not even attacking with his fire stopped those, the strands bended to avoid the embers, no matter how large Asriel made them.

"Why do you keep running away?"

The Entity didn't reply to that. Not disappearing…wasn't that was the Entity had tried to do? He had been forced to confront the fact that, if he succeeded, the people he had known would disappear. They would continue existing, but they would never be the exact same people he had met. While he had always known that, seeing Asriel say it managed to strike a chord in the Entity's mind.

They were still determined to follow their promise to themselves: not run away from his problems and whatever else happened. In a way, this was their last ditch attempt to succeed at their intention of modifying the timeline.

The park at the exact center of the city was the next place. Golden flowers covered the ground, and the constant movement of the shards that formed the image created the illusion there was rain.

Asriel soared through the rain and the flowers of the park at the exact center of the city, the Entity seemed to be slowing down. Was he getting tired? Asriel wasn't sure if that was even possible, but he had to take the chance. "Patta, there's something else you could do. This doesn't have to go like this…"

The Entity stopped completely. Branches as thin as sewing threads emerged from the trunk, slowly approaching Asriel before carefully grasping the monster's right wrist, slowly pushing him closer before letting him go. It seemed it was really time for him to listen to what Asriel had to say to him, even though the Entity was greatly reticent about stopping.

 _What do you mean?_

As if the void was sympathizing with what Asriel was saying, the images changed to the dancing studio Asriel had fought Byssa in. It was fitting for Asriel's intentions, and seeing it gave Asriel some courage to do it. Asriel took the suitcase handles off from his arm, showing it to the Entity. Although the Entity lacked eyes right now, Asriel felt he was entirely focused on the suitcase. "I bought you some things I think you should take a look at"

 _What stuff?_

"…our friends' stuff" Asriel replied "I don't know how significant these would be for you, but I thought you'd like to see these gifts they gave you. Don't give up, Patta. There are people who believe in you"

 _…Asriel, I'm not sure what you mean._

That was a lie. The Entity had a feeling what Asriel was talking about. The monster nodded and opened the suitcase. "Here…I'd like you to look at this and remember them" 'Remember what these objects mean for you, Patta' Frisk took the control of Asriel's body for a moment, just to say that, before leaving it up to Asriel again. The Entity approached a bit more, attentive to what Asriel had brought.

Asriel smiled serenely and looked into the suitcase. There were several options, any would be a good place to start. What mattered was to show the Entity it didn't have to be over yet.

It didn't have to be the end.

 *** Crayon Art**

 *** Cooking Apron**

 *** Monster Biology Textbook**

 *** Deputy's Badge**

 *** Ballet Shoes**

 *** Youth Troop Badge**


	38. Rise from the Ashes

There wasn't really a good first choice. Asriel wasn't really sure what each one could mean to the Entity, so instead he took the first object he recognized: the drawings. Asriel looked at the crayon drawings, looking at them wistfully. It had been a nice time, drawing in the abandoned house and just taking the time to spend some time with Frisk and Celia. Asriel wasn't really sure how the Entity could see, but turned the drawing Patta had made of the children drawing. "I found these, Patta"

The Entity was in silence for a moment before letters formed in the void.

 _…I remember those._

"There are other things in this suitcase! Take a look!" Asriel approached and held the suitcase in front of him, inviting the Entity to take it. The Entity hesitated before extending his branches and taking the suitcase, writing a quick 'thank you' in the air. "You forgot this" Asriel passed the drawing he had taken and waited to see the Entity's reaction. The monster was hoping the sight of those mementos would be enough to convince the Entity modifying the timeline wasn't a smart idea.

The Entity leaned closer to see the contents and took out the other two crayon drawings, the SOUL barely getting out of the hole in middle of the trunk of the tree. A strange mix of feelings were stirring in him, recalling that moment and what he felt. It had been a rather peaceful evening, although he had spent most of his time just staring out of a window. There had been something fulfilling in seeing Asriel get along with human children. Patta had even let himself join them and just…do something he hadn't done in years.

It had been nostalgic. It had reminded the Entity of simpler times, and…and now it was a reminder that it was extremely unlikely he'd have the chance to do something as simple as drawing. What could he even do now?

…maybe…he could do something for someone else? Celia, Asriel and Frisk…two of those three depended on him. The Entity may be out of reality, but if he had the possibility to change the timeline, then…perhaps he could do something else in benefit of the children? Of everyone else?

Asriel had been staring at the Entity's SOUL, attentive to any changes. He was feeling hopeful this could work, at least get the Entity to stop fighting. A sensation of wrongness, the same sensation he had felt while he had been with Ciruel in the study, permeated the void. The SOUL pulsed, shaking slightly, and the fragments forming the tree started to crumble down. The Entity was losing control of his shape.

All around them, the environment changed. An image behind the Entity; it was an iron gate. As if the formation of that image had triggered the Entity's current emotional state, one of the branches broke. It fell down, crashing against the false ground and shattering. The pieces froze in the void before starting to spin. Asriel expected words to appear, but instead he immediately felt something piercing his body. The fragments had crossed the air instantaneously, passing through Asriel's body. _'Azzy!'_ It took him a moment for his mind to register what had happened, but when he did he immediately raised a wall of fire to stop any incoming fragments. While the Entity wasn't as strong as Asriel, the sudden attack had startled him. _'Are you okay?!'_

"…I think I am…" Asriel felt his chest. Logically, all those sharp pieces should have hurt him much more than that, instead he had sensed it all passing through him. The amount of damage done was rather low.

 _'Why did he attack you again? What did we do wrong?!'_

"I think…he's not doing it on purpose?" there wasn't really that much time in trying to understand how he had survived, not when he hadn't finished trying to help the Entity. Once he judged there wouldn't be any incoming attacks, Asriel lowered the wall of magic fire.

The Entity had managed to pick the other two crayon drawings, and was holding them in front of the SOUL. Since there were no words left anywhere Asriel supposed the Entity was deep in thought.

A luxurious dining room formed while the Entity examined the other two drawings. Frisk's and Asriel's drawings…one abstract, supposedly meaning 'determination', while the other showed the New Home. Somehow, the Entity didn't have any particular feelings about the drawing themselves, but those were once another sign of the bond the Entity had shared with the children.

"What do you think, Patta?" Asriel hoped to hear anything that could tell it was all going well, but the Entity didn't reply. The fact no attack came forth was encouraging, or maybe it was because the other two drawings didn't cause any strong reaction in him.

The environment changed. Ciruel's studio seemed foreboding to Asriel, and the Entity sensed the monster's dread. The tension in the Entity's human SOUL increased, something thick and uncomfortable filled the atmosphere. While the Entity took out the apron from the suitcase, he tried to calm down Asriel.

 _Don't worry. It's okay._

The apron still had stains of mud and grass, marring the fabric. Graham had been a quite kind person. He had been welcoming and now that the Entity thought about it, he never really thanked the innkeeper properly. It was once another regret to the list of regrets the Entity already had. Now that he thought about it, that apron had been delivered with a letter, hadn't it? It had said something…thoughts flocked to the Entity's mind while he took the apron Asriel had brought.

 _"You'll be the first person I decide to believe in. You already showed a bad side of yours and I could see you regretted it dearly. I can respect that. It is fair I believe you can be a good person."_

He had written that in the letter and the Entity had never really understood why. He wasn't any better than anyone else, in fact, he was sure he was a worse person than a lot of people. What did Graham see in him?

A second branch broke, snapping from its juncture with a root with a resounding cracking sound. The pieces of the branch expanded quickly outwards, intermittently taking cyan and orange colors. For Asriel it was very easy to pass through it, it seemed the Entity was starting to get some control over his outbursts.

The thread of the timeline shone brightly for a moment, it had been quite a while since Patta and Gaster had entered the void. It wasn't going to be long before the timeline modified itself to erase any trace of Patta's existence. The images all around Asriel and the Entity broke away for a moment, revealing the blackness of the void, before cluttering back and taking a new form: the streets of the suburbs. The Entity didn't pay attention to it all, though, entranced by the suitcase and its contents.

The Entity took the book Ciruel had gifted him. He hadn't treated Ciruel properly, had he? In hindsight, he…he had been pretty ungrateful towards the scholar, considering him annoying and wanting to get out of the manor as soon as possible, and although Ciruel had been a tad irritating, he didn't deserve the Entity's scorn.

The Entity managed to open the book, flipping the pages and reading some passages. The conversations with Ciruel resonated in the Entity's consciousness. He had to admit: talking with Ciruel about monster biology, about Asgore and about the Hermit had been a pleasant night…and proof Ciruel was rather dedicated to his job and life, completely unlike Patta had been. Ciruel hadn't given up, he instead had continued even though he ended being overwhelmed by his life.

Follow your dreams, see where they take you…did it even make sense to have dreams now?

"Patta?" Asriel tried to get the Entity's attention. Was this all going badly? The Entity didn't reply, starting to tremble. Flakes of the cyclical tree fell down from the branches, that strange mix of emotions was starting to feel like a burden in his SOUL. He wanted to demand an answer, reassurance he hadn't thrown his life away, that there was a reason for him to continue existing.

 _What am I supposed to do now?_

The words had formed so fast Asriel flew back a little, surprised. The Entity's branches trembled with more strength. "What do you mean?"

 _I'm trapped here. Once you leave, there'll be nothing for me to do._

 _What am I supposed to do?!_

Some of the Entity's roots separated and shot straight towards Asriel. The monster moved further back, avoiding the sharp roots. The roots didn't try to return, though, instead faded away into the nothingness. Without roots, several of the branches withered away.

The tree slowly swayed from side to side, trying to balance itself, the missing branches and roots were starting to take its toll on the Entity's stability. The suburbs didn't last long, morphing into the forests near Mt. Ebott. The Entity tried to lean on the trees all around him, but those were no more than flat images and empty air.

 _There must be something I can do…_

Asriel thought for a moment. There really wasn't much to do, but maybe… "Patta! What had you said about the timelines?"

The Entity managed to stabilize himself for a moment, long enough to interlock some of his branches.

 _What do you mean?_

"You said there were going to be alternate timelines! What can you do with that?" Asriel had no idea what he was talking about, but he figured anything that could give the Entity a goal or something to work for would be good. The Entity's flowing fragments slowed down, he seemed to be mulling it over.

 _…I'm not sure…_

The part of him that was Gaster had infused him with certain knowledge regarding the workings of the timelines and the void, but most of it was theories and wild guessing. Gaster's current theory was that Patta's erasure from the timeline would spawn alternate timelines, and modifying the actual golden thread would stop it…

…modifying the timeline…maybe what the Entity could do was influence the _new_ alternate timelines, instead of the original one?

 _…that could work!_

The subtle sounds of the forest, the limpid air with leaves, everything sped up. Asriel noticed it and prepared himself for what could come, although he noticed this time the cause was positive. No attack came forth. Asriel quickly looked around, ready for anything that could _'It's working, Azzy!'_

A rustic baseball field materialized. The Entity was blocking the path towards the mountain, barely maintaining itself intact. Although the tree had been damaged, the SOUL didn't seem to have any damage. He was again looking into the suitcase, taking out another object.

Ananas' deputy's badge was tiny, no bigger than a fist. The Entity had to unravel one of his branches to take it and examine it. It was a comforting item, Ananas had been the first person to help Asriel and him. Without her help, Asriel may have never returned to the Underground. Had Patta even thanked her? He didn't remember.

 _Asriel, I…I think…_

The Entity wanted to tell Asriel to thank Ananas for everything, to thank all their friends once he met them, but it wasn't like Asriel would remember anything the Entity said once he returned into the universe. "Yes?" Asriel encouraged, smiling, hopeful. The Entity didn't write anything, Asriel's smile dropped after a few seconds.

The few words that had been written crumbled away, the tiny sharp pieces falling all over Asriel. Although the monster made no effort to move and received a direct hit, the amount of damage done was virtually none. Asriel took it stoically, never looking away from the Entity.

There now was the chain-link fence that had marked the way into Mt. Ebott. The Entity's shambling form seemed to melt into the intercrossing shapes of the fence, as if it were trying to hide from Asriel.

Hadn't Ananas said something last time the Entity…last time Patta had talked with her? "It's my way to say sorry for the blunders". She also had said it was better for him to not to know what had happened. The badge had been sent as an apology, but since the Entity didn't know for sure what it was apologizing for, the meaning had gone unnoticed at first. It wasn't hard to guess it was meant to be atonement for _something_ , it didn't really matter what.

Face your mistakes and do what you can to fix them. Trying to modify the timeline had been a mistake, it was only right he made up for almost destroying reality. How? He wasn't sure yet.

For now, well, there was one mistake he could fix, at least. One branch more separated from the trunk, this time broken away by the Entity's will. It levitated in the air for a moment before taking a green color, and once that happened, the Entity launched it towards Asriel. The monster extended his hand, touching the branch as soon as it was close enough for that.

 _…I think I'm starting to understand what I should do._

The journey through memories was almost over, too. The trail upwards the mountain was around them, looking much more peaceful than Frisk, Asriel or the Entity remembered it. The Entity's form was unrecognizable as a tree by now, barely held by the trunk. He didn't stop taking the contents of the suitcase, this time looking at the ballet shoes. Who had those belonged to? Celia's cousin? The Entity had never met her, but he had seen the timeline and found out her actions. Seeing the shoes brought those memories back. He managed to not to show a reaction yet, first deciding to consult Asriel.

 _What are these, Asriel?_

"Those are Byssa's shoes!"

 _Byssa's…shoes..._

Asriel didn't seem to hold a grudge against her. Had he forgiven her? When the Entity requested for more details about Byssa Asriel started a long speech about Byssa. The monster purposely left unmentioned anything about the murder attempt Byssa had done, but the Entity wasn't fooled about that. He had the time to see the contents of the timeline, after all. His branches started shaking in repressed outrage.

 _How can you talk about her as if she didn't try to kill you?_

"...oh..." Asriel looked down "...she just did a mistake, that's—"

 _She tried to_ kill _you!_

"But she changed! She-She stopped that, and we turned friends!"

The Entity didn't say anything for a moment, too stunned with Asriel's response. Once he shook off the surprise more words formed in the air, jagged and hastily written.

 _How can you be friends with someone who tried to murder you?!_

"She changed! We-We talked, and we're friends now! She's not a bad person, Patta"

'I would have befriended her too' Frisk admitted. Having Frisk's support gave Asriel some courage to face the Entity's anger. When the Entity saw Asriel wasn't willing to admit or change his mind about having befriended Byssa, he slowly calmed down, the fragments almost stopping circulating through the remains of the tree.

 _...why...did you forgive her?_

"...because she was sorry" Asriel was rather sure of what he was saying. There was no hesitation in his voice despite having a hushed meek tone "She tried to kill me, but that was because she didn't know me...I know that doesn't mean she should have tried...but she was hurting, and I felt sorry for her. She isn't a bad person, and when I talked to her...I felt she was grateful for it"

Byssa changed. She had literally tried to murder a child for reasons The Entity didn't fully comprehend or empathize with, and her almost-victim had forgiven her because she had changed. Did that mean changing was possible? Someone who had seemed to be so against monsters, blaming them for the disappearances, had changed her mind so why wouldn't the Entity be able to change his mind about other things too?

 _...right. What I should do isn't to merely not change the timeline anymore..._

No attacks came forth, and the Entity's form finally lost its cohesion. The tree melted away, the last remaining branches snapping and breaking apart. The roots shriveled away, the fragments that had formed those spread everywhere, floating and creating a slight haze. The SOUL was the only thing that remained. Around it, a familiar human silhouette took form. Asriel stared, hoping to see his friend again, even if he was blurry and grayscale, but only the silhouette was there.

The final place that'd form materialized, filling the void with a golden glow. It was that hallway near the throne room. Somehow it felt like an appropriate place to see at this point.

The suitcase was floating nearby. "Here, let me help—" Asriel started to approach to take the last item out of the suitcase, but the Entity stopped him. Skeletal hands formed, one gripping the suitcase and the other keeping Asriel at bay. Asriel had been the one to show the path, but it was the Entity...no, it was Patta's duty to walk it to the end. The children had done enough for him already; it was only right for him to get done with it.

The last object in the suitcase...the Youth Troop pin...could be considered the final step of the path, and that was because it was the representation of what Patta wanted, paradoxically provided to someone who had been in a situation similar to his. That moment was represented in that tiny badge, and the Entity could hear once again his own words.

"You lost everything. Maybe that is true, maybe it isn't, but it doesn't mean it is all over. Times won't be easy for you, but don't lose hope. Find something new, something to fill your days and maybe replace what you lost. There are so many possibilities out there, and you can reach and try to grasp them! What matters is to not to let yourself be chained by your regret.

Live and don't lose hope. That is what you should do"

 _What I must do...is to not lose hope. I must find something new. I must replace what I lost. I must live._

Finding something amidst what was lost and create something new. That was what everything in the journey had all been about. It was a tale about letting go and continuing forward, about learning and growing. Maybe it wasn't what was meant to originally happen, but it was good. Everyone else had gone through their own trials. Some failed, some overcame them...and now it was Patta and Asriel's turns.

Patta had to face his own erasure and create something out of it, thanks to Gaster's knowledge and unwilling help. Asriel had to return to the timeline, face the possible distrust that'd arise from Frisk never returning from the mountain, and work along his six friends to create something out of the ashes and the remains of it all. Frisk had failed their trials, and although it was unknown what would happen to them, they could help Asriel in some way too.

Slowly, the silhouette was filled with the person Asriel had wanted to see. The Entity...Patta seemed serene. He was smiling, staring at his closed fist, he was gripping the Youth Troop badge. "Patta!" Asriel hurried to get to him as if he expected the Entity to crumble down at any moment. Patta let the child approach, still smiling.

 _I don't think I have words to tell you how grateful I am to you for everything._

The Entity put all the objects back in the suitcase. It felt like closure. He held the suitcase as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Asriel let out a sigh of relief at the Entity's calmness, he had succeeded. His friend had been reminded of what mattered, he had been given support, and now...

...all that remained was to say their farewells.

 _Asriel, Frisk, do you have time to talk for a little longer? I'd like to us three to part as friends, if that's okay._


	39. Farewells

The golden timeline was still glowing, although it was noticeably less bright than it had been when Patta had entered the void. The change was going to happen soon, but the part of the Entity that was Gaster had calculated there was still some time before it happened. They didn't know how long it'd be, but it should be enough for Asriel and the Entity to talk.

That was why they were sitting on a platform near the timeline, looking at it. The Entity...Patta had turned rather wistful. He wanted to again talk about everything that had happened, everything the three of them they had seen and all the people they had met.

So they did. The three talked about the five days. Asriel told Frisk about the moment he had met Patta, the first impressions, the calm town thousands of miles away from the Underground. Frisk told Asriel about the times they had been with Patta searching for Asriel, fretting and trying to find him. Patta told the children about the things he had talked about with their friends, the little details that had happened.

They smiled while talking about the joyful moments, they turned solemn while remembering the moments they despaired or felt discouraged, they conversed about the serious moments with the earnestness it warranted. No matter what they talked about, there was always that feeling of satisfaction, the kind of feeling that made one look back at everything with fondness.

For a while, the three of them enjoyed each other's company. When there was nothing else to remember and they had run out of topics of conversation, it was decided it was time to finish the discussion. After all...

...the journey was over; this was where the paths would separate.

 _Asriel, Frisk, I'm not happy that this ended with me practically dying and being erased from reality, but it went okay for the most part, didn't it?_

Asriel tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

 _I was wasting my life when we met. I was just...coasting through life, and I hadn't even realized my own actions had led to that. Traveling with you allowed me to realize it, to find hope._

 _I'd like to return the favor, but I don't know how_

"You don't have to do that, Patta! It's okay" Asriel smiled. He wasn't sure how to ask it, but it was sounding like it was appropriate to ask "Are you happy now?"

 _...no. It sucks._

The Entity's eye twitched slightly.

 _There are a lot of unsolved regrets, and no chance to deal with them. But you know what...that's okay. It doesn't mean it's over._

He turned his head and looked at Asriel.

 _You have grown a lot more than I did. How are you feeling?_

"I have grown up...?" it had felt like he had, just a day before, but it was almost surreal to think about it now.

 _'It's true!'_ Frisk supported.

 _Yes, and I don't mean it because you don't look like a child. Asriel, I saw what happened during these five days. You went through so much and instead of giving up, you're still walking forward. You even said you didn't want to be a different Asriel._

 _...I think that shows fortitude._

It wasn't like the Entity could be sure of what had crossed Asriel's mind while he had said that. It could have simply been not wanting to disappear, instead of being truly satisfied with everything that had happened, but the Entity was willing to believe it was a sign of strength.

 _I wonder if having Frisk's SOUL within you made you more determined or something._

"Maybe it did" Asriel extended a hand towards the Entity "Patta, I could absorb your SOUL too. I could return into the timeline; you'd still exist...you'd be okay! You don't have to stay here" As far as Asriel could see, it was a good idea. Sure, it'd mean he'd change more, possibly into an even more unsettling form. Sure, his parents would be worried and maybe even angry at him. Sure, he'd have to stay away from almost all the residents of the Underground until the scientists managed to separate the SOULs, and that was _if_ that was possible.

But in Asriel's opinion, it was worth it if it meant saving a friend.

The Entity wanted to take the offer, he really did, but he could think several reasons to not to accept. The first one, and the one closest to his heart, was that he didn't want to burden Asriel with his SOUL. A second reason was that sharing a body with Asriel just didn't seem appealing at all. As he saw it, it'd be like seeing Asriel live his life, Patta wouldn't have his own. He couldn't imagine not being in control of it, just coasting along while Asriel lived his life. It wasn't worth it. There was also the fact that Patta's SOUL had been infused with Gaster's dust, and Patta didn't want to risk anything happening to Asriel for having another monster's conscience and will inside him too.

There were too many risks and disadvantages. As much as Patta would have wanted to accept Asriel's offer, he just couldn't.

 _Don't offer that to me ever again._

It was blunt, but the Entity hoped Asriel would understand discussing it any further wouldn't lead anywhere. Asriel stared at the words, a tad hurt by the blunt refusal, but accepted the Entity's decision. "Then what will you do? You're going to be out of the timeline, what will happen now?"

 _Nothing. I'll be here, and you and everyone else will continue your lives._

'That doesn't sound good' Frisk piped up, taking control of Asriel's body for a moment. The change was noticeable enough to get the Entity to notice Asriel had taken a backseat for the moment 'Patta, are you sure you want this?'

 _I don't want it!_

 _Stop asking me what I want!_

 _This shouldn't be about me; this should be about you two._

 _What will you do, Frisk?_

'I'll be with Azzy' Frisk replied immediately.

 _Even if it may not be possible to separate your SOUL from his?_

Frisk shrugged. Since their death, they had a lot of time to think. 'That'd be fine!' There was silence again while Frisk scratched the platform with Asriel's claws, trying to find the words to tell the Entity what they were feeling.

'I made a mistake and I died. I get it, it was a mistake to want to run away to the Underground. I just wanted to run and not look back, and it hurt Asriel because I died. I should have stayed in the city'

 _...so now what?_

'First we'll help our friends. I'll say sorry to Celia for trying to run away, and then...I don't know' Frisk murmured 'I'm not alive anymore...'

 _Have you talked with Asriel about it?_

'Not yet' It didn't really matter; he was listening to every word now 'I'm dead. My SOUL could be used to break the Barrier, right?'

 _Seven SOULs are needed._

'Then mine will be the first one! They'll start working with it, and monsters could go free!'

 _You sound sure they'll be able to separate the SOULs._

'If they can't do it then...' The monster body's eyes watered, but his expression seemed more resigned than saddened '...then that's okay. Azzy is my best friend...I'll be happy being with him, even if it has to be in this body'

The Entity stared at the timeline. Frisk didn't have much of a choice either, but it seemed they would at least be able to convince themselves it was okay, whether it was by giving their SOUL to help break the Barrier somehow or sharing Asriel's body for the rest of the monster's life. The Entity felt sorry for them, but telling them that wasn't going to be of any help. Instead the Entity nodded gravely.

 _Thanks for everything, Frisk. I'm sorry we weren't closer friends, but I'm glad we met._

Frisk read the floating words a few times before practically attempting to tackle the Entity. The uncomfortable static shock that permanently permeated the Entity's form made the monster body's fur stand on end, and it hurt a little to hold onto the Entity, but Frisk persisted, hugging the Entity tightly. Not having expecting a hug, the Entity was completely still for a moment before returning the hug. It was a much sincerer hug than the one Frisk and Patta had shared beside Frisk's grave. That one had been rather awkward, this one was meant to express how much they meant for each other. They had been friends, and they wanted each other to know it.

After a minute of hugging they let go. It had been satisfying, both Frisk and the Entity felt a bond with each other. 'Bye, Patta...' Frisk said, sniffling.

 _Goodbye, kid._

Frisk left the control of the body up to Asriel again, having given their farewell to the Entity. Now it was Asriel's turn. Asriel blinked, a bit disoriented at having the control of the body back, but recovered quickly.

"Patta? How long do we have left before I have to go back?"

 _I don't know, but we have been talking for quite some time already. It'd be good for you to return to the universe._

"...I'm not sure I can say goodbye, Patta...I don't want you to be trapped here forever" Asriel stared into the void. The thought of the Entity spending the rest of his life in this place – if dying was possible, that is – seemed nightmarish. Asriel couldn't imagine anyone accepting such fate when there were other options, and that's what he told the Entity. The Entity listened patiently and sighed.

 _There aren't other options. Besides it isn't that bad! I have Gaster's knowledge and guidance, and you know what it tells me?_

 _That I can modify timelines. That's what I was going to do, remember?_

"Why are you telling me that again?"

 _I also told you alternate timelines would be created because I'd be erased from reality. Gaster thinks it's because the timeline is destabilized, or something like that._

 _What I think I'll do is modify those alternate timelines._

Asriel narrowed his eyes, a bit confused. "I don't get it" The Entity waved his hand towards the golden thread.

 _It'll be like a second chance. Look, it's true things didn't go as well as they could have. Frisk died, and a few other things could have gone much better, but it was a start!_

 _If I modify the timelines, someday I could create one that's_ perfect _._

"Perfect?"

 _One where monsters and humans can live together, where no one has to die. Hey, if it's possible, maybe I could even make it so the war didn't even happen! Things would go much better for everyone._

 _For our friends, for Frisk, for you, for your family, for every monster in the Underground..._

The words formed faster, the Entity's expression was optimistic. He was trying to put a show for Asriel, though. His intentions really were to create a perfect timeline, but the effort on having to hide that, no matter what, he wouldn't be able to be in it – and that the chances of achieving it were very, very low – was taking a toll on him. He wasn't going to let those doubts be obvious, though.

Asriel didn't notice it. He believed the Entity's words. His eyes brightened up, that was a pretty optimistic perspective! "Can you really do that?"

 _I can! Trust me, Asriel. In a timeline, everyone will be alive._

"And when it's done, you'll enter it?"

The Entity's cheerful grin faltered for a moment, but he recovered before Asriel could start worrying.

 _Sure. I could try._

That was something he wasn't sure about. Maybe he could! But...appearing out of nowhere and inserting himself into a timeline...that could bring a lot of trouble. If getting erased destabilized a timeline to the point it'd cause alternate threads to be created, forcing himself to be in one wouldn't cause something similar? Asriel did notice the lack of sincerity in the Entity's reply. He was about to ask more about that when the Entity said something else.

 _It's time for you to go back._

 _I...I had fun. Being friends with you was one of the best things that could have happened to me._

 _I'm going to miss you._

Asriel didn't look at the Entity. He didn't doubt at all he was being honest about those grateful feelings, but Asriel felt that, if he looked at the Entity, he would try to stay longer with his doomed friend. "I'm glad I met you too" the monster replied "I'll miss you so much, Patta..."

 _No, you won't. Once you're inside the timeline you won't remember my existence. That's what happens when one is erased from reality._

So to make it worse, both Frisk and Asriel were going to forget all about Patta. Gaster would technically exist, thanks to his dust coating the golden thread, but Patta had been a human, not a monster. His essence wouldn't ever permeate the thread; he would be an outsider. Asriel opened his mouth to say something to that, to ask if there was anything he could do to not to forget Patta, but no sound emanated from his throat.

If there had been a possibility, he was sure the Entity would have said it already. There was nothing to be done. A tad discouraged, Asriel exhaled. "...I see. I don't want to forget, but...if there's no way to avoid it..."

There was nothing else to be said. Asriel and the Entity stood up and slowly floated over to the timeline. The Entity placed their hand on the right place, opening the rift necessary for Asriel to return.

 _I'll miss you. It was...it was fun to spend time with you. Have a good life, Asriel._

Asriel was already crying openly, unlike Frisk. While Frisk had tried to hold back tears, because they wanted to have a certain image of stoicism despite the situation, Asriel wanted to show how much this all was affecting him. "I-I-I hope you'll be okay, Patta! We'll always be friends, r-r-right?"

The Entity would have replied 'hard to be friends when you won't even remember I exist', but that wouldn't have helped in the slightest. Instead, they smiled as cheerfully as possible.

 _We will. Now get in there._

 _Remember there's something Frisk and you must do. Save our friends. Keep them safe._

 _And...and be happy. Live a long and happy life, that's the least you should do._

"I promise I will" Asriel showed a large smile, just like Frisk and Patta liked to see from him. There were so many things he wanted to tell Patta, so much encouragement to give, but he knew if he started he wouldn't get done for hours, because he'd refuse to leave until he had finished and thought a hundred new things to say. As much as it hurt, it was better to get done with the farewell.

The monster turned around and walked to the rift without looking back. The scenario changed from the blackness of the void to the yellow shine of the hallway near the throne room. Once he had reached the middle of the hall, Asriel stopped. "We're back. We really are back!"

 _'We have an hour, Azzy! Let's get going!'_

"Right!" There was no time for standing around in disbelief. Their friends needed them. Asriel immediately started running towards the throne room, hoping to go through the Barrier and reach the bottom of the mountain before the group got there. He would save them. No, Frisk and he would save them. No doubt about that!

And there was something else she realized...he hadn't forgotten. He remembered Patta, he remembered how kind he had been with him. He also remembered Patta was isolated now, outside the universe and without a chance to return back. It wasn't all bad, though.

The mere fact Asriel could remember despite the Entity's grim prediction gave him hope. Feeling much more animated, Asriel ran faster.

At that same time, relatively far away, another Asriel, carrying a suitcase, crossed the portal into the void.

 **End of the timeline.**

-ooooo-

The Entity closed the rift. The void was in complete silent. Not having a real body, he didn't even make sounds now, even the faint sound of static was gone. Without anyone else, he started feeling the enormity of his decision.

...well, at least he still had Gaster. Patta and Gaster started talking at the same time, just like usual.

"YOU THREW AWAY OUR CHANCE OF RETURNING TO THE UNIVERSE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF _SENTIMENTALISM_?" Gaster sounded more resigned than anything else. His emotions were dependent of Patta's SOUL, after all.

"I don't think it was sentimentalism, it was more because I want to have a chance to do something. Having my SOUL absorbed by Asriel would achieve nothing"

"AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ACHIEVE? A PERFECT TIMELINE? THE ODDS ARE ASTRONOMICALLY LOW. I CAN ALMOST GUARANTEE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE"

"Well...I have an eternity to do it, don't I? Someday I'll achieve it" Was death even possible now?

"HOW LONG WILL YOUR DETERMINATION LAST YOU? THAT'S THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOU ALIVE. THE MOMENT THAT DETERMINATION IS GONE, YOUR SOUL WILL SHATTER AND YOU'LL DIE.

EVEN IF YOU FORM YOUR BODY AGAIN, A VOID IS NO PLACE TO LIVE IN. YOU'LL STARVE TO DEATH IN MATTER OF WEEKS, IF YOU DON'T DIE OF THIRST BEFORE THAT.

YOU'RE DOOMED"

"Then I better make good use of the time I have" If forming a physical and stable body meant sure death, then the Entity's best chance was to stay as he was now, as much as it bothered him. Besides, even before he could attempt to modify a timeline and turn it into the timeline where everyone would live happy lives, first the alternate timelines needed to start being possible.

It didn't take long. A few minutes after the short conversation with Gaster, a portion of the golden thread dimmed considerably. It tensed, the glow starting to fade away. Just like Gaster had said would happen, the timeline was attempting to heal itself, to account for Patta's erasure.

The golden thread snapped loudly at the point Patta started existing, leaving behind and intact the rest of the timeline. It had happened, there were two timelines...at least for now. Slowly, the old timeline started degrading, fading into nothingness.

"What...?"

"I TOLD YOU: "IF ASRIEL DOESN'T GET THROWN INTO THE PAST AND OVER THE SURFACE, THE PRESENT COULD STOP EXISTING"

"But I did that!"

"YOU DON'T GET THE POINT: THE PRESENT NEEDS THE PAST. IF THE PAST DOESN'T EXIST, THE PRESENT WON'T EITHER.

YOU HAVE BEEN ERASED FROM THE TIMELINE, THE PAST HAS BEEN CHANGED. WHAT'LL HAPPEN NOW TO THE PRESENT THAT HAD SPAWNED FROM THE FORMER PAST?"

The Entity gasped. Of course! What had Gaster said, back when they were discussing it? "My personal theory is that everything and everyone would stop existing, and since there's one single timeline in existence, it would mean the entirety of our reality would be completely and irreversibly obliterated".

It was actually happening. What now? How was he supposed to stop it? Without the past, the present didn't exist, and it wasn't like he could create the past again! The timeline continued breaking away as if it was candlewick in a lit candle, it wasn't going to be long before everything the Entity could see was destroyed and the rest of the future, extending into the infinity of the void, burned away too.

"There must be a way to stop this!"

"YOU CAN'T STOP IT"

"I have your knowledge, there must be something I could do!"

"PRESENT DOESN'T EXIST WITHOUT SOMETHING LEADING INTO IT"

Present doesn't exist without—what was that? The Entity froze for a moment, his mind giving him an idea that seemed both beneficial and harmful at once. There may be a way to keep at least a portion of the timeline existing...and a portion was better than nothing, right? Because if nothing was done, then there wouldn't be a timeline at all and, if the Entity had to be completely honest...

...he couldn't let go of his past now, even if it was going to be just a tiny part of it. The Entity created skeletal hands to aid in the task. His hands grasped the timeline, several weeks before the date Asriel appeared at the house over the surface, while the set of skeletal hands held onto the exact point Asriel had entered the void with the purpose of looking for Patta. "N **N** OW **OW**! **!** " Both sets of hands did the same action: snap the timeline.

The future started fading away too, but the Entity didn't pay attention to it. Instead, they focused with the thread he had in his hands now. It was around a foot long, nothing more, and in those thirty centimeters there were several weeks of life, including the days Asriel had been on the surface. Not having the rest of the timeline thread to support it, even that short piece of timeline started burning away, starting from the end the Entity's human-looking hands were holding.

There was no time for hesitation. Moving the other end of the portion, the Entity molded the thread until it formed a circle. It was going to require some precision to do it. The Entity observed, waiting for the right moment. As soon as the timeline neared the point Asriel literally appeared out of nowhere under the table in Patta's house, the Entity forced the ends of the timeline together. It wasn't entirely perfect – the timeline started several minutes before Asriel arrived to the house – but it seemed to be working!

"It's working...I think it'll work!"

"LOOK OVER THERE"

Gaster alerted Patta of several parts of the timeline that seemed much duller than the rest. It seemed that despite the Entity's efforts, the timeline was still unstable. Would those parts start degrading too, and it would all get destroyed? These five days were the last remains of the timeline, saving it was the last-ditch attempt to do something right. "T **THI** HIS HAS **S** TO WOR **HAS TO W** K **ORK**... **...** "

The only way to fix it the Entity could think was using part of himself as a way to keep the timeline together. Focusing on isolating the parts of himself that represented his memories, the Entity gathered those fragments. He carefully applied those fragments onto the dull areas of the timeline, forcing those to permeate the thread. It was pretty much the only way he had of keeping together the timeline, although he had no idea of the consequences of applying his own memories onto the golden thread. Thankfully, no harmful consequences happened, the most that did was imbue several people with the need to follow certain actions, paradoxically causing the same strange glimpses of the future that had stumped Patta, Asriel and several others.

The Entity stared at the circular timeline, watching it attentively and ready to try to counter any further degradation. The timeline itself was a sorry sight, a thread coated in some areas with strange black and white fragments that looked like ants crawling in square formations, but...

...it was working! The degradation had stopped. The timeline had been saved! Sure, there were only five days...but there was nothing else that could be done. The Entity pretended to exhale loudly, feeling the most relieved he had ever felt in his life, and at the same time...he also felt a lot of sadness. The timeline's destruction had been one pile more onto the many things that had gone wrong.

All that remained of the original timeline...and of the world that had been his home...was a looping, anomalous timeline, only lasting five days.

The Entity grabbed it in his hand, staring at it with pity. Once again, things seemed to be bleak and almost hopeless, but unlike every other time, the Entity didn't feel his determination faltering.

"SO NOW WHAT?"

"...well I better get started, right?

That promise won't fulfill itself"

* * *

 _I don't know how long ago that was. I just know it has been a long time, and as you can see, there are thousands of timelines over our heads. When one doesn't need to sleep, or eat, or anything like that, one has a lot more time to work._

 _You know, I didn't expect Asriel nor anyone else to actually remember I existed. It was to be expected of Gaster, his dust is all over the timelines, but I didn't have such luck. If we were wrong about everyone forgetting about me, what else could we have been wrong about?_

 _What if...these golden threads are no more than a way to look into the timelines, to modify them? What if the future exists and I merely can't see it? That'd mean everyone could have a good life. I believe they would have, Asriel, Frisk and those six would work very hard to make a great future happen. I'm sure they'd be successful! I like to think that's what happened, and that I just can't see it. It's kind of childish, but it...it makes me feel a bit better about everything_

 _...but I can't stand around and hope for the best, which is why I'm working on creating the perfect timeline. Of course it hasn't been easy, and I'm not even close to being done._

 _A new timeline started growing, but something must have wrong with it when I got erased. It seemed similar to the one I came from, but people didn't survive, like I expected. Byssa went missing, and Celia followed her a year later, for reasons I don't understand yet. I didn't wait to see how longer the timeline went, I managed to get a new timeline growing._

 _Frisk and Celia often went to Mt. Ebott, getting killed by the Hermit. Sometimes Cohen and Ciruel went to the mountain, too. There was a particularly memorable timeline where Ananas was the one to go, apparently to try to apprehend the Hermit and avenge everyone who had gone missing._

 _When those timelines happened, I always tore apart the thread and let that timeline rot away, letting a new one grow. At some point I learned to make more than one timeline exist at the same time, so I started to experiment with different situations..._

 _...it didn't make it any better. Asriel started dying too. I don't think there's a single timeline in existence right now where Asriel lives, except for the anomalous timeline. I...I started getting desperate, I started creating new timelines from even earlier away, changing more and more years. The further back I started modifying, the more extreme the changes were..._

 _Asriel was born centuries earlier than the year I met him. My friends' ages got messed up, Celia turning into the oldest and Ananas into the youngest. Frisk started going to Mt. Ebott for reasons I'm not aware of. I guess constantly creating timelines and modifying them causes..."mutations" in the new ones. Gaster isn't sure what's going on with that._

 _One time I got the inspiration to change the Hermit's situation. He just had to get a little further in that cave and fall down into the Underground, and that somehow changed a lot of things for the better. Both Asriel and the Her...Chara seemed happy, at least until they...well, you know what happened._

 _It could be said my attempts so far haven't really made anything better, though, but I'm not giving up. Every time I feel my determination waning even slightly, I watch those five days again and I remember why I'm doing all this..._

 _...it's not for me. It's for them._

 _I'm not giving up. No matter how long it takes, I'll keep going._

 _And once I'm done...I'll be able to rest._

 _I'll be free._

 **END**

* * *

 **...well, not really. It IS the end of the story, however...**

 **...there's one huge plotline still yet to be resolved, isn't there? So there's one last chapter left.**


	40. -?

The Entity moved a finger over the thin timeline thread, watching the events unveil. It was once another failure, as catastrophic as many others he had seen before. Everyone was dead. Shaking his head, he stepped aside, moving along the timeline towards the past.

"WHAT WENT WRONG THIS TIME?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It may be related to Asgore, but I don't know how..."

"MAKE NOTE OF THAT"

"Of course. I think we need a different approach, though" he said in his usual synchronized conversation while carefully peeling part of the failed timeline, creating an alternate one and starting to try to influence its events to see if there would be any changes. His influence was still rather limited, despite all the time he had been working with the timelines, but that had never stopped him.

It had been quite a long time since he lost count of how many days, weeks he had been in the void. It didn't really matter, but what he hadn't realized was that the part of him that was Gaster and the part of him that was Patta had been slowly melding together. The changes in personality and behavior weren't big, but anyone who knew Patta would be surprised.

Patta still was a kind person, despite his lack of contact with literally anyone in a long time, but he had slowly acquired a more pragmatic and less emotional outlook of his duties. At first he had been rather angry with himself, for letting the timelines include someone dying, and those timelines often got destroyed, just for him to start creating a new one. That changed. Now he left all the failed timelines intact, taking them as valuable ways to see how he had failed.

He still got frustrated at his failures, but the times he would scream and blame himself were gone. He had started to take a drier and systematic approach, leaving emotions aside so it didn't interfere with his work.

In contrast, despite Gaster being no more than essence with no SOUL or say in what was going on, started being affected by Patta's determination and will. He got much more cooperative, aiding Patta in his goal and keeping track of all the variables. While he still didn't understand the nuances of Patta's emotions, he had stopped berating Patta about it, instead cooperating in ways that reminded Patta of the skeleton scientist he had briefly met in the original timeline.

It could be said the both of them were partners now, working for so long their ways to deal with their..."life" had changed. Whether it was for the better or not was something they didn't know.

"Remind me, have we tried making Celia actually leave the Ruins?"

"SEVERAL TIMES. IT ALWAYS FAILED"

"If Celia can survive the isolation before she starves to death there could be progress..."

"BUT THAT WOULDN'T SOLVE ASRIEL AND CHARA'S DEATHS"

"I know that, I just want to see if it's possible for her to—"

"WOULD THAT CHANGE ANYT—"

"Did you know talking to yourself like you're doing right now is said to be a sign of mental imbalance?"

That last line had been said by a lilting, feminine voice neither Gaster nor Patta had heard before. The Entity snapped their head around, spreading shards of himself nearby. There was a woman floating nearby, waving at them. The Entity stared at her, dumbfounded. She was literally the first person – actually, first living being – he had seen in quite some time.

The woman seemed to be older than Patta had been, with long black hair in a braid wrapped in a white ribbon. She had an old-fashioned Victorian dress and jacket, both of a deep blue color. As if that wasn't enough to give her an unusual appearance, her eyes were blindfolded. If it weren't for the strange bulb-light objects hanging from her hair and from a brooch on her jacket, it'd look like she'd have faded into the void.

The strange woman waited for the Entity to say something, but when it was clear he wasn't going to she snapped her fingers obnoxiously in front of his face. "Hello? Did I startle you?"

"...WHO **WHO AR** ARE Y **E YO** OU? **U?** "

The woman covered her ears, wincing. "Don't do that! Keep your voice down. That hurts!" she said "Don't pay attention to the blindfold. Write in the air like you usually would" The Entity stared for a moment more before moving his hand, initiating his first conversation with another person in who knew how long.

 _Who are you? How did you get here?_!

"My name is Lucia. If you wish to show me reverence, you may call me by my title: 'the Witch of Hope'. Think of me as a being from a higher plane of existence than humans or monsters" Lucia bowed slightly, smirking "As to how I got here, well...I just did! It's as simple as that"

The Entity felt an instinctual dislike towards her. Her mannerisms weren't loud or flashy, but she had a certain aura of slyness and badly disguised disrespect that made him want her to leave. Witch of Hope? What kind of pretentious title was that? If it weren't because he wanted to have someone to talk with even for a short while, he'd have asked her to go away.

Lucia looked around, noting all the timelines surrounding them. "You have been working on something here, haven't you?"

 _Witch of Hope? What's that?_

The Entity tried to change the topic, not feeling completely comfortable with a stranger looking at everything he had done. Lucia narrowed her eyes slightly, but answered.

"It's just my title. I work on giving or taking away people's hopes. That's all, no big deal" she said with ease, as if she got asked that a lot. She waved her finger towards the many golden threads around them "What's going on here?"

Hope...that'd be nice. While the Entity had determination, that didn't mean the same than having hope. After thinking it for a moment he decided to give a few details. He did want Lucia to stick around for a while, even if it meant revealing something like that.

 _I'm trying to create a perfect timeline._

"A perfect timeline? Do you mean a timeline where everything goes according to how _you_ want it to go?" Lucia didn't seem very impressed, looking at him with disdain.

 _I didn't mean that! I mean a timeline where everything goes okay, that's all._

"Riiiiiight. Because that isn't suspicious at all" Lucia said, grinning. She was having fun not taking the Entity seriously, but her curiosity got her to ask for more details. "Why would you do that? Shouldn't you be inside the timeline, not out here?"

 _...it's a long story._

The witch grasped her hands. "Good! I love stories! And since I doubt you'll go anywhere anytime soon, how about you tell me all about it?" she was smiling as if she was doing a magnanimous favor to the Entity by sticking around. Her voice made the subtext obvious: 'You're not going anywhere nor I'm leaving until I get what I want'. The lack of socialization with anything had diminished the Entity's assertiveness, not seeing any other option than complying and hoping to get done with it as soon as possible.

The Entity rolled his eyes before going away for a moment, bringing a suitcase. Inside, there were several objects, but none of them got Lucia's interest...with one exception: a shiny ring, no bigger than a coin, pulsating with the same light the timelines exuded. The Entity took out the ring, showing it.

 _This is a timeline. What you're going to...uuuh...see, is the contents of this timeline. It's...it's the reason why I'm here, and the last memories I have of several people to whom I owe my life to._

"Life?" Lucia looked at the Entity up and down. She didn't believe the "life" the Entity had right now was worth much.

 _You know what I mean._

The Entity wasn't in mood of arguing how he used those words, instead holding the looping timeline in front of the woman. She seemed to be staring straight at it despite the blindfold. Both the Entity and Lucia looked inside the timeline, the events of those five days starting to unfold.

-ooooo-

There was something cathartic in giving commentary and some narration to the anomalous timeline. The Entity had been nervous at first, but soon it was easier to keep talking about it. Lucia had gotten interested in the events of the timeline too. The more the Entity talked, the more she watched what happened during those five days, the less tedium showed in her face, until the Entity noticed she was paying full attention.

Sometimes, Lucia pursed her lips as if she were deep in thought. When Asriel told Frisk about Celia's imminent departure from the city, she opened her mouth as if she was going to say something about that, but then she shook her head, closing her mouth and deciding to stay silent.

At the end, after the Entity finished narrating what had happened in the void, she looked around again. "All that does explain why there are so many timelines...so that's what you're trying to do"

 _If you have a problem with that then maybe you should leave._

The Entity didn't mean to get so defensive, but Lucia had a way to get on his nerves that made him very wary of her. She shook her head, though.

"I don't have a problem with what you're doing! In fact, I have been playing dumb for a while already. I have been here before"

 _...you have?_

"Yes. I have seen you working, talking to yourself like a lunatic – or to Gaster, same thing – but I didn't know your reasons. Today I got curious enough to ask you, that's all"

Somehow the thought of Lucia spying on him didn't feel any good. The Entity scowled.

 _Great. What else have you done here?_

"Nothing else, but since this is such a hopeful project then I should provide my help" Lucia extended her hand "Let me help you-"

 _No._

Better to not to let a third party touch any timeline, as far as he was concerned. Lucia tapped her forehead, sighing. "You didn't even let me finish. As I was saying before I got _rudely_ interrupted: let me help you! Do you know what you lack? **Power.** Sure, fusing Gaster's essence with your SOUL and getting your body mangled by the void may have given you rudimentary powers, but if you want to cause such dramatic changes then you'll need much more power. I can help you with that!" The Entity would be lying if he said that wasn't tempting. It took him a moment to reply.

 _...I'm not sure that's a good idea._

"Ugh, come on! Look around yourself!" Lucia gestured at all the golden threads around them. From the point they were in, they could see at least a couple hundred threads, and surely they'd see more if they went further into the void. "You did all this, and do you want to know what you have accomplished? Jack shit" Lucia stopped as if she wasn't sure she was using the slang correctly. "...yes. Jack shit, yeah" she pointed her finger as if she had just made an undeniable point "I could even say you have made everything worse. Your cute goat friend, that child you didn't protect, those six humans who helped you...all them are dying over and over, because you don't know what you're doing.

And now this's where I come in! I train you, you learn magic and the nuances of this timey-wimey business, and then you'll be able to do what you want to do. You'll be able to save everyone"

That definitely was a tempting offer, but could the Entity really accept such thing from someone he had just met?

 _What's the catch?_

"A catch? Why, do you think I'd be as crass as to hide my intentions?" Lucia raised her eyebrows "Usually you'd be right, but I'm feeling uncharacteristically charitable today. There are no hidden fees, no hidden conditions...you just accept and we start working on your skills"

 _...I don't know; this is all too sudden..._

Lucia didn't even read those words. "Or you can stay here and spend the next two or three eternities trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole. You decide"

When she put it like that, was there really a choice? It was true, the Entity hadn't progressed much. All he had done is make everything worse, and he knew it. The Entity pretended to think about it long and hard, but he knew what he'd be his answer from the beginning.

 _I accept._

It was his chance to finally acquire the means to create the timeline he sought to make. As long as he never strayed from that goal, he'd be okay, that was what he told himself to accept. Lucia chuckled, satisfied. "You won't regret it...or maybe you will. We'll see once we're underway" she approached, looking at the particles that formed the Entity "But this won't do at all! You can't be a proper witch without a body"

 _A proper witch? What?_

"Sorcerer, if you want to call yourself that. 'Witch' is simply the general term. My point is that you need a body" Lucia extended her hand, slowly moving it vertically. The fragments that formed the Entity's being started to meld together, acquiring color and solidity. Skin, clothing, hair, it all took form and created the person Lucia was going to mentor.

It was a strange sensation, feeling like all his being was changing and turning into something real. It was almost unreal how, in one moment, he was conscious of everything. He was breathing, he had a heartbeat, he was a _living_ being again. The Entity touched his face, trying to convince himself this was really happening.

"How does it feel?"

The Entity stopped feeling his face and raised his hand before noticing that, now that he was a tangible person again, he couldn't use his own pieces to form words in the air. Lucia rolled her eyes behind the blindfold. "You can talk"

"...I can?" The Entity's voice was hoarse due to the lack of use. He felt goosebumps once he realized that yes, that was his voice! The Entity laughed, softly at first, but it kept increasing in volume until it was cackling, full of joy. He was a person again! He had a body, he had a voice! None of that was affected by Gaster's—

Gaster! The Entity stopped laughing. His voice had no trace of Gaster. "Wait, what happened to—"

"To Gaster? He's still in you. He's part of your SOUL now, and I can't do anything about that" Lucia said "Now that you have a physical body, he has been relegated to the innermost places of your SOUL and mind. You'll still be able to talk to him, but I think he'll feel more like a...a voice in your head?" she shrugged. She didn't care about Gaster at all, for all she cared that skeleton scientist may have been kicked away from the Entity's psyche.

The Entity took a moment to try to get in contact with Gaster, but he didn't hear his voice. It did seem that having a body had pushed Gaster away. After so long sharing a consciousness with someone else, it was strange to be himself again. The Entity continued touching his head, noticing how long his hair was now, reaching just above his knees. He also had glasses now, something he hadn't ever used before. "...wait a second, what's going on?"

"Oh, you mean the changes? Do you know how long you have been here?"

"Uuuuh..." that was something he had wondered at times, but it wasn't like he had a way to know.

"You're going to love this: it has been little more than sixteen years since the moment you promised you'd create a perfect timeline!"

"Sixteen years?!" The Entity shouted, almost dropping his glasses in surprise.

"That's right. Happy belated forty-second birthday!" Lucia did jazz hands, laughing "So I modified your body to make it match your age. I think that's how you'd have looked if you hadn't been tore apart by the void so long ago"

Sixteen years in the void. He was now forty-two years old. He had lost visual acuity, he needed a haircut urgently, and he did feel somewhat less energetic than he was so long before, but other than that he seemed to be okay. It was true Gaster's absence was disquieting, but the novelty of being alive again dwarfed those concerns. "I can't believe it has been sixteen years..."

Lucia looked towards the timelines. "Sixteen years is a lot for you, but for someone like me it's nothing. I'm at least a hundred times older than you, you know" As if revealing she was at least 4200 years his senior wasn't big deal she continued "Maybe you'll get to that point too. Do you have a name?"

A name...Patta had used to be his name, but now that he was dead, that Gaster was part of him and that he was now going to have magic skills, somehow, his past name didn't seem fully fitting. The Entity shook his head, and Lucia shrugged. "I'll give you a name later. For now, let's leave this place"

"Leave this place?"

"You didn't think we'd stay in here, did you? First I need to reveal you as my apprentice, officially naming you as a witch. After that we'll start working on your skills"

"But I should keep trying while I'm improving...I can't just stop and leave this all like this" the Entity weakly gestured at the golden threads, but Lucia grimaced.

"What use is there in returning when you don't have a chance to succeed? I mean, I won't stop you, but it's not going to be useful at all"

"I would feel better not stopping..."

"Whatever. I don't really care what you do with your time. Let's go, I'll let you bring a single object with you" Lucia pointed at the suitcase that was nearby "And don't even think of exploiting a loophole by trying to bring the suitcase with everything inside. I mean it: one single object"

The Entity didn't hesitate. He extended his hand and showed Lucia the looping timeline. The woman looked at it, the Entity was sure that, behind that blindfold, her eyes were full of pity. "You don't know to let go, do you? That's it, your name is Sisyphus"

Sisyphus nodded, that seemed like a nice enough name. Lucia apparently had been waiting for a reaction. "You don't know a thing about mythology, eh? Well it doesn't really matter" as soon as she said that, a rather decorated door materialized in the void "Cross that door and wait me on the other side. I have to do something first. You don't mind, do you?" her tone had turned rough. Sisyphus got the message clear: 'You don't mind. Get inside already'. Sisyphus wanted to have some time to get used to the thought he was leaving the void he had been in for so long, but Lucia wasn't going to give him such luxury. Sisyphus stood at the doorway and looked behind him. He felt he needed to say something.

"I'll return. This doesn't change my promise...I'll return and finish what I started"

With a weight in his heart, Sisyphus crossed the door, and Lucia closed it.

The woman turned around, looking at all the timelines. "That guy sure did a number in this place. Look at this mess" she said, smiling wryly. How long had it been since she had visited the void for the first time, back when it was one single timeline? She had forgotten. Lucia walked around, musing to herself.

"I wouldn't have ever guessed taking away one single child's hope would lead to such drastic changes. Usually the changes are confined to the timeline, but now here I am, looking at thousands upon thousands of alternate timelines, and it all started because Frisk despaired. It's like toppling a domino, it brings down so many other dominoes too, and the end result..."

Lucia floated towards one of the many timelines, glancing at the contents. "I can't complain. It was worth it. I gave the first push that'd lead to the creation of so many timelines, I got to hear a story that kept me entertained for a few hours, and as if that all wasn't enough, now I have a student" she smiled "And it all started because I shattered that Frisk kid's hope. Well done, me, this is some kind of new personal record"

It was interesting to see the development of her actions, and while it was true she didn't have exactly pure intentions regarding taking Sisyphus as a student, she also felt some admiration for him. She could always respect someone who worked for a goal that stemmed from hope. "I'll turn him into the next Witch of Hope. Looking around me I see what he can do with his determination and with his will to do what he thinks is right. That could be...malleable. I wonder how far I could push him..."

After making sure the timelines were stable and weren't going to collapse due to Sisyphus' absence, she returned to the door, taking a last look around. "It's a shame. After all he has done for sixteen years...he doesn't know. He wants a "perfect timeline", one where everyone survives. Too bad, my dear student..."

Chuckling emptily, she saying a few words, using the Red Truth. The red words always said the literal truth. Usually that lent itself to wordplay and deception through withholding information, but there was no other way to interpret Lucia's words.

It was an absolute declaration:

 **Sisyphus will never achieve it. There is no timeline where everyone he knows will survive. A timeline like that has never existed, and it will never exist. Ever.**

Lucia closed the door behind her.

* * *

 _Lucia, the arcane Witch of Hope, said to have lived for thousands of years. A witch of great power who travels through countless worlds, bestowing or taking away hope from its residents, with the sole objective of causing great repercussions. Many have given their hearts and souls to her allure, sometimes leading to their success and other times to their doom._

 _While she's not entirely heartless or callous, she rarely has remorse over her actions and proudly boasts the destruction of countless worlds, and often likes to watch from afar the fallout she indirectly causes. Only when the consequences transcend reality she intervenes._

 _It's said she wears a blindfold to stop herself from getting attached to what she sees, although said blindfold is more symbolical than literal, as she can perfectly see through it._

* * *

 **There you go. That's the person Sisyphus was talking to. The ground has been established for a future Undertale story, and now, well...Overmyth is officially over! All that remains is for me to make a few authorial notes. I like to remember how things changed from the planning stage to the end result, talk about what I think about the characters and plot...and give some details regarding future stories.**

 **It should take me a few days to type everything. Thank you for reading!**


	41. Author's Rambling

_Myth: noun \ˈmith\_

 _1: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon_

 _2: a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence_

-ooooo-

I'm not completely sure where the idea of creating Overmyth came from. One day I didn't have it; the next day I had started to create a very vague outline in my mind. If I had to guess, the idea itself started when a friend and I were talking about how monsters would be received by humans. He had finished Undertale, and he was pretty enthusiastic about such concept. Once I realized there was something to be written I started planning it all.

At first the monster who'd need help wasn't even defined. I considered many options, and ended deciding a child character would be the best fit, better than an adult monster. Monster Kid, creating an original character for the story, and Asriel Dreemurr were the characters considered there, and at the end I decided to go for Asriel! Mainly because his life, personality and general status as the future ruler of the Underground had a lot of potential growth.

The idea was simple: Asriel needs help to return to the Underground. The problem was what would go from the beginning to the end. It took me around three weeks to finish the 23-page long draft of what the story would have, and of that draft only around half of its events actually happened. The rest got changed or erased, and many other events got added.

Creating Patta was the most difficult part, I'd say. The lack of human characters in Undertale forced it to happen, and...it's always a challenge to create an original character to fit in a fictional universe. As a whole I think I succeeded on that regard.

The rest of the story planning was much easier. I always had the idea of using the six human SOULs, and since there was the smallest amount of information available about them (the color, their weapons and armor) I started building from there, and ended with six characters. All that remained was linking everything and creating a place for everything to happen, and then...there it was! A first draft of a summary of everything! Sure, many things got changed before the first chapter and all was posted, but you get the point.

And now, after all these months, the end result was Overmyth, and I'm very satisfied with how the story went! I had a lot of fun writing it, and it was rather well received, apparently! I'm grateful for everyone who gave the story a chance and sticked around until the end. Thank you for that!

I'm sorry for rambling and all, but I figure talking about the story, the characters and what I intended is a good way to finish Overmyth once and for all. Think of it as an elegy, a way for me to honor something I spent who knows how many hours working on.

 **THE THEME OF OVERMYTH:**

It wasn't decided from the beginning that the story would have a, uh, a 'topic' so to say. I mean, a cohesive concept that linked the characters and the plot points, but while I was creating the summary I noticed it did have something! So I kept building on that, intentionally creating the theme it ended having:

 **Rebirth.**

It isn't meant to be as dramatic as it sounds. Rebirth, something being gone and one starting something based on the absence of that something, it's a very common thing. We don't even realize it happens. As it was said in Chapter 36 'Overmyth':

 _"Ananas would continue treating life as a game of favors, uncaring unless it directly affected her. Frisk would continue living with Celia, having to depend of his own wits and other people's charity to survive. Celia would continue alone, without a family to depend on and waiting for a miracle that may never come. Graham would continue hating humanity, yet smiling and pretending he hadn't lost all faith on everyone. Byssa would continue blaming herself and Mt. Ebott for a couple dozen people's deaths, letting those feelings eat her up from inside. Ciruel would continue at the mercy of his SOUL, forcing himself to trudge through life. Cohen would continue being in the Youth Troop, being with friends that he may or may not be better without"_

Each SOUL had their own problem, something they needed to change, or something that was chaining them down. The loss or getting free of all that allowed them to develop as better people. Each one of those will be touched upon in each character's individual section, but the point of this all was that rebirth allowed to become better people in some way. Frisk and Patta had their own character arcs based on that, too. Asriel's rebirth-related development was more related to the setting, instead of something directly affecting him.

There was a secondary theme to Overmyth, though, but it's something that's going to be talked about in the section about the Main Characters, as it's something exclusively related to those three.

It's literally starting in the next two lines.

 **CHARACTERS**

The characters will be talked following this simple template:

 ** _Name:_**

 _Main motivation:_

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_

I'll explain near the end what's up with the arcanas, but for now, I can say it's a huge help when it's about defining a character.

 **MAIN CHARACTERS:**

Main characters, yes. The story had three main characters, although one maybe could be said to be...kind of a secondary main character? So, the theme the main characters had was _personal growth_. Yeah, almost everyone in this story had growth too, but the three main characters represent different types of growth, which you'll see when each one is mentioned.

 **Asriel**

 _Main motivation:_ **Expanding horizons** , going in a journey, influencing people spontaneously.

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Fool

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The Fool**

Asriel is practically the bringer of change. He didn't tell anyone how to change, or what to do – except to Ciruel - but most of the SOULs gained new insight after talking to Asriel, and Asriel didn't even realize it, most of the time.

That is one facet of what Asriel represents. Asriel as a whole represents **_successful_ growth** , the ability to not only influence others to change for the better, but also to change _oneself_ for the better. Asriel was the classical innocent child, thrown into a world he's completely unfamiliar with. It's a fun experience, and all is good! Of course, not everything can be good. Asriel had to face the fact that the human world had a lot of problems too, both as a whole and for each person he met, and that those problems would affect him and the rest of monsterkind. At first he tried to take everything with a smile, but soon the weight of everything took a toll on him, which led to a lot of self-doubt and fear of what'd happen to monsters once they resurfaced.

The point of Asriel's journey was to realize that, no matter what, he should continue fighting to achieve something good, no matter how difficult it was. Asriel's initial fears – Patta disappearing on Mt. Ebott, getting caught by humanity while he was still on the surface, being a burden for Patta – were faced, and new situations were piled onto him immediately. Once he managed to get over those three and continue despite it all, he was able to face everything and just...keep going. Even Frisk's death, although it hurt him a lot, didn't stop him for long.

His growth was successful, and he was mature enough to recognize it. He didn't want to be a different person because he knew all he had gone through had contributed to make him a better person. Even when Patta offered happier circumstances – some stemming from the implicit possibility of Asriel never having met Frisk or Patta – Asriel clung onto who he was now, and rejected Patta's offer.

I admit I was nervous at first about writing Asriel. I esteem the kid a lot, and it's that same esteem what got me nervous, I feared I was going to trample the character into the ground in an avalanche of stupidity. Children characters are difficult to write, especially those that are especially kindhearted as Asriel. There's a fine line between being innocent and being too naïve to live. I'm hoping I managed to stay on the right side.

Developing the friendship between Patta and Asriel was difficult, there's a limit on how much trust a child can have for an adult they met recently. Asriel may be trusting, but I think he has enough social smarts to know one doesn't just go with the first stranger one meets. Sure, it wasn't like Asriel had an option here – he wouldn't be able to return to the Underground by himself – but while I imagine he'd seek an adult to receive guidance and protection from, he'd keep some distance, at least at first. Once I judged Patta and Asriel had bonded enough to have implicit trust towards each other, it turned easier to write about it.

Asriel and Frisk's friendship was an entirely different matter, of course! They were both of the same age, and Frisk was always willing to give a hand. As a whole I meant their friendship to be one where Frisk acted like...like a slightly savvier kid, guiding and helping Asriel, while Asriel in turn provided unconditional friendship and turned into Frisk's crutch when Frisk needed it, although...it didn't end well for Frisk.

Overall I think I achieved everything I could want with Asriel's role in the story. I don't have any regrets.

 **Patta**

 _Main motivation:_ Focusing inwards, **desiring a new direction** , being of help.

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Magician

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The Hermit**

Patta was the last character I defined. It's tough to make an original character who is likable, isn't it? I mean, this is fanfiction, and one is familiar with the characters from the universe the story came from. Any original character sticks out as a sore thumb and would need to show it deserves to be liked and rooted for, and that's hard. Did I succeed? ...maybe I did, Patta seems to have been generally well received.

I'd say Patta represents **_failed_ growth**. As a whole, Patta is a good person but he's...really kind of an idiot. He tore himself apart from his family because of something he had assumed, and when his dream had a problem that wasn't even permanent he gave up and resigned to a dull life. He was the opposite of a determined person, and it was all because of his own emotional weaknesses. There's no doubt that, if things had continued like it had for a few years more, Patta would have turned irreversibly misanthropic, if not dead in a ditch. Look at how he has so little enthusiasm even about his own identity that he influences the narration to call him 'them' instead of 'him', as if he weren't even sure of that. He was already deep into a hole.

Asriel saved him. Patta needed something that'd rock his world, force him to face himself and the world outside. Asriel, a child who was scared and helpless, tugged Patta's heartstrings enough to get him to want to help him, and it all got better for Patta during the trip. He rediscovered traits long forgotten, and created the hope he needed to actually want a better life. Through helping Asriel, Patta got in contact with a variety of people that ended bringing out both his best and worst traits. He learned, made promises and bonded.

The problem is that Patta's issues couldn't be solved in five days. First than all, he's an adult, not as malleable as children, and second, he has been wallowing in his misery for nine years. One would need more than five days to achieve something worthwhile, and there's no time for that. Patta did _start_ to change, but due to how short time he had those changes were rather flaky, and by the time he entered the void he hadn't steeled his will to fulfill his promises. Patta learned, but wasn't able to _apply_ what he learned. That's why despite his promises it seems like he hadn't done much progress...at least that's how I intended. A reader will know better than me what the text says, instead of what I intended.

Patta's name comes from **_päättäväisyys_ ,** which would be 'determination' in Finnish. It has been months since I named him that! Defining his age and where he lived was a bit trickier. I needed an age that wouldn't be too young, as that'd mean he wouldn't have spent enough time in the bottom of the pit, so to say. Twenty-six years old seemed enough. Then the location, because the closer Patta was to Mt. Ebott, the less of an excuse he'd have to actually help Asriel. The point was that Asriel had no chance to get to Mt. Ebott by himself, if Patta were living in the same city, then he'd just tell Asriel to get going. Originally he was just a city away, but then...then I got the idea of making him not know about monsters, so instead of being just a city away, instead I placed him a couple continents away. Hah!

I have some regrets on how I dealt with Patta, mostly about Chapter 11. I had problems with that part, and I still think the way he told Asriel may have been melodramatic. I mean, Patta was immature emotionally, that's a huge flaw he has, but it may have gone overboard there. I also fear he may have overshadowed Asriel. I mean, they were both meant to be the main characters! None should have been more important than the other. I tried to keep a balance, but it's hard. I think by the time Asriel returned Underground, the story focused on Patta more than it did on Asriel, which was to be expected, now that Asriel was back home, but it may have been too much focus.

Other than that, I'm overall content with how Patta was written, and...well, all I hope was that Patta was a worthwhile protagonist character, someone you could actually care about and hope to see succeed, even if I, the author, planned from the beginning to see him not achieve a happy ending.

After all, I'm not done with him yet!

 **Frisk**

 _Main motivation:_ Vitality, **providing reassurance** , being confident, **believing in their worth**

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Tower

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The Sun**

Frisk is a much needed stable presence. Not only they aid in crossing the city, they also provide support and helps unite Asriel and Patta. Frisk plays well their role of friend towards Asriel, being a calmer and a person Asriel can trust. Being of the same age than Asriel helps a lot, Frisk is someone Asriel can feel comfortable relying on, at first because Frisk is a child too, and later because Frisk showed unwavering support and reliability. Their relationship with Patta was different. While they never had a friendship to the same caliber any of them had with Asriel, Patta and Frisk respected each other and knew they could trust and look for help together. In the moments something may have happened to Asriel it was important for them to have each other to rely on and stay calm enough.

Unfortunately, Frisk was designated to be the one representing **_negative_ growth, ** so to say. Character development exists, yes, but negative character development exists too. Frisk doesn't take well the news of Celia's future departure, and although they express their feelings to Asriel, Asriel let himself be convinced. Why did Frisk lose hope? It's simple:

They were going to lose the only two close friends they had. Celia was going to move away, and Asriel was going to return to the Underground. They wouldn't have anyone who would support them like they wanted. It was true they liked some adults and relied on them, but there are differences in a friendship between children and a friendship between a child and an adult. One can't replace the other.

What Frisk needed at that time was reassurance everything would be fine, and they didn't obtain it from Asriel. Asriel's support involved helping Frisk achieve what they wanted instead of trying hard to stop them from doing something they'd regret. Once again, Asriel didn't enforce his own feelings and thoughts and went along what his human friend wanted.

Only after Frisk's death and the absorption of their SOUL they realized clinging to a friend like that wasn't right, but by then it was too late to correct it. Still...the least they could do is give their support to Asriel and Patta, and so they continued doing that.

Curiously enough, I don't think I had many problems writing Frisk. They bonded with Asriel quite quickly, but they didn't start trusting Patta much until after they talked about Patta's fears of causing someone's death. After that point they stopped replying to Patta in just a few words and started building a bond with him too.

Frisk is the only main character who had changes to their arc, at least regarding how they had been written in the first summary draft! They were slated to survive, you know! You know who was going to die? Celia. More details about that in her section. Frisk would have decided to continue living in the city as a way to honor her memory, and returned to the city while Asriel took Patta into the Underground. That all was why Frisk had the Tower card as their arcana. However, I felt dissatisfied with that all, so I scrapped that original plan. I think it's for the better, as what happened to Frisk allowed for further growth from Asriel and Patta, which would have been diminished if it had been Celia.

I don't have any concrete regrets about how I wrote Frisk.

 **SECONDARY CHARACTERS:**

 **Ananas**

 _Main motivation:_ Responsibility, acting on ethical principles, **facing her mistakes**.

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Empress

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **Justice**

How unoriginal can that get? The Yellow SOUL gets Justice as the arcana. Oh well!

Ananas was meant to be like a remote friendly presence for most of the story. At first she's of help – if only because she felt the need to compensate for her first mistake – but once she feels she did enough she tries to forget what had happened and go away, leaving Patta and Asriel to deal with everything by themselves. That by itself doomed her to not to intervene in the story that much, but after her realization she had made everything much harder for Asriel – leaving them on a street near the boundaries of the city led to Asriel being seen by someone by the first time – she tries to help further, and by then Asriel refuses to take the easy solution of being driven by her to Mt. Ebott, for a variety of reasons.

Not to say her help was useless! Not only she got Asriel and Patta all the way to the city, she also helped Asriel get the fortitude he needed to learn to defend himself when needed, which I'd say was an important contribution to Asriel's development.

I liked writing Ananas, although dealing with her extremely contrived way to talk was...definitely something I should have thought better, hahahahaha. Oh well!

Originally Ananas was actually going to be much more of a motherly figure. In the final story, yes, she was motherly to a fault, but not as much as she would have been in the original summary. Heck, one of the scrapped plot points was that she'd take Patta and Asriel to her home! They would have met her family, and it would have been Asriel's first exposure to different types of behaviors humans could have towards monsters.

However, I wasn't satisfied with that. I felt she was way too bland, and her family, while they were meshing well with Asriel – Ananas' children were both younger and older than him, and therefore had behaviors not really seen by anyone else in the story – I think it all came to the cost of Ananas just...not being good enough. I mean, she wouldn't even have much development, and that bothered me. Everything related to Ananas' household was deleted, and instead she was written in a way that allowed not only to give some conflict to herself, but to allow her to grow.

 **Celia**

 _Main motivation:_ Patience, **endurance** , acceptance

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ Strength

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **Strength**

What's with Overmyth and homeless children? Really. Either way, Celia's plight and way to deal with it was a test of endurance. No one other than Frisk is helping her, due to reasons no one can control – cruel relatives that go out of their way to force her to not to be effectively helped – but she takes it stoically. It isn't that she doesn't mind what's going on, she hates her situation and would like it to change, but there's nothing she can do.

That's why, in the very first occasion there's of actually being able to do something, Celia jumps to the chance, even if it means doing something unlawful she wouldn't do otherwise. It could even have led to Asriel's death, which would have broken her. There were many, many better ways of dealing with it, so why did she do that?

The problem Celia has is that she's way too _passive_. Look at the way she died in who knows how many timelines: she stayed inside the empty Ruins house, waiting for things to get better. All she did was try to keep herself alive, but she didn't know how to take care of herself yet. Once it was clear to her there was no more option than taking action or die, she went out and tried to eat a monster. Her way of coping with the need of being active is to do something extreme, she doesn't know how to act otherwise.

She wasn't always like that in the stories, though. You know what was in the original draft? She actually went with Asriel, Patta and Frisk! Yeah, there were actually four main characters. She also was going to be the one to die on Mt. Ebott. There are a few reasons why I changed all that, though. One: four main characters is pretty difficult. I couldn't find a way to develop four main characters at once. Two: Somehow didn't mesh well with me regarding killing Celia. It's true it'd affect Frisk and push them to stay in the city, and Asriel and Patta would undoubtedly be hurt by her death, but I feel she wouldn't be close enough to Asriel or Patta to actually help develop them. Third, and the most important one: it didn't mesh well with what I had planned regarding Byssa in that original draft. It would have ruined all her development. More details about that in her section. The changes to the plot and all led to Celia having a lesser role in the story, but I think it was for the better.

 **Graham**

 _Main motivation:_ Increasing understanding, **imparting ideologies** , loyalty

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Emperor

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The** **Hierophant**

You notice the SOULs were linked in pairs? Celia and Byssa, Ciruel and Cohen, and Ananas and Graham. The link in these last two was much closer in the first draft, shown even in their first iteration arcanas. Yeah, Graham had a fatherly role of sorts.

Graham is the character that changed the least from his first depiction in the summary. He was always the type to be content with hating humanity and living on, not turning misanthropic despite that dislike. He also strived to impart his vision of the world with younger people, mostly with Frisk and Celia. Asriel was his newest student, so to say, Graham was Asriel's first impression about the possibility humanity is to be hated...although most of the conversation was offscreen...

Originally it wasn't. There was this conversation full of feelings and bitterness, buuuut...but I felt it was a tad too heavy-handed. I mean, at the end of the day Graham is a minor character. I couldn't burden the story with something that wouldn't come up again in some way beyond a couple mentions. Almost every other information about the other SOULs people had something to do with an obstacle in the group's way, or was a reason to care for the human SOULs, but I felt that scene didn't do any of that, so...yeah, I cut it away.

This man's role in the story wasn't major, but I think his presence and the setting he owned were important for the development of the main characters. He and the inn helped them bond, he pushed forward the interactions with Ciruel and Cohen, etc...

I think maybe I should have gone into more detail as to how and why he was starting to trust humanity more, and why he gave Patta the task of giving him reasons to believe. I admit I'm unsatisfied with how I handled it.

 **Byssa**

 _Main motivation:_ **Relationships,** sympathizing with others, establishing personal beliefs, struggling with temptation

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Devil

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The** **Lovers**

Byssa is the character who got the worst treatment when the summary got tweaked over and over. In the first iteration, Byssa could have been considered the major antagonist of the story. Fueled by grief and demanding explanations, she was going to try capture Asriel, as well as rally people against monsters by using Mt. Ebott as the main part of her accusation. At the end of her arc, like it happened in the final version, she'd learn to deal with her grief and guilt about her brother and the rescue party's disappearances, and she'd move on.

She was even going to appear several times during the trek! She was going to be rather important!

But no, the more the story was modified, the less importance Byssa got, until it ended with her being the most minor character of the six SOULs. It all started when I realized Celia dying – and Asriel potentially taking her SOUL – would undo all the development Byssa had. After fixing that, I saw another minor problem, then another, until yeah, it ended like this. I feel bad for doing that, to be honest.

Still, the core of her character development is intact. Relationships define Byssa. Her relationship with her parents – the people that restrict Byssa and keep making Celia be abandoned by people – her relationship with Celia, and later her relationship with Asriel, even though it's for a very short while...all that influences her behavior and her way to see the world. Only after sympathizing with Asriel and starting to leave behind her grief she was able to do something meaningful and stick with her real beliefs.

And that's all she did! Her arc started in one chapter, and ended in the next. Sorry, Byssa. Maybe next time she'll have a bigger role, but...but it isn't a promise.

 **Ciruel**

 _Main motivation:_ Obsession, being tied against his will, **experiencing limitation** , doubting

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Hierophant

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The Devil**

Ciruel is a fun case. His actions both troubled and benefited Asriel and his friends. His interest in seeing the monster led Asriel to decide not to go straight to Mt. Ebott, which in turn caused many of the problems he encountered. Ciruel's earnest behavior and hope to connect with Patta and Asriel led him to be considered annoying and dense. Heck, he's the one who told Cohen about Asriel and got him involved, which caused a lot other problems.

But it's undeniable Ciruel has his heart in the right place. He felt constricted by the legacy left by the six Ciruels who existed before him. He loves monsterkind, and everything related to it, but the pressure made him vulnerable and affected his SOUL to the point it turned unhealthy and delicate. It was a sign of the mental imbalance he was suffering, and although it wasn't something that could be solved in a few days, Asriel got him to calm down and start taking everything at his own pace, stopping to worry about his ancestors and what they did.

In the original draft, Ciruel was rather unhelpful and much more negative. He was going to attempt to keep Asriel on the surface to parade him around the world, all for selfish reasons. He was also going to be the one to insult and demean Asriel directly, instead of admiring monsters. But you know what, I like this version of Ciruel more. I think it fits him better and allowed for something better to read and write about.

 **Cohen**

 _Main motivation:_ Victory, determination, **focusing on a goal** , holding in anger.

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ The Chariot

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **The Chariot**

I already talked about how Byssa's role turned minor. Well, that didn't mean I didn't like some of the situations she was going to get into when it was about causing problems! I modified them a bit, deleted a couple, added one more, and the end result is that Cohen is the closest thing to an antagonist Overmyth has.

He never really meant being an antagonist, though. While he opposed Asriel's return to the Underground, it wasn't like he had bad intentions. He was doing what he thought would be better, at least at first, and then it all was warped into what happened in the story.

He wasn't always like that, though. In the original draft his role was much friendlier, and actually different in the sense he wasn't even in a youth club. He was more of a high school athlete, and it was with his help that Asriel, Patta, Frisk and Celia would reach Mt. Ebott. He was also going to be Byssa's main opposition, and a big contributor to getting support for monsterkind.

I feel bad for Cohen. I think his role would have been so good in that original draft, but after all the modifications done...there was simply no way I could make it all fit, so it changed drastically, and now you see how it was. Sucks for him. Something good came from it, though. It allowed me to turn Cohen into a foil for Patta, in the sense that Cohen and his loss of something he cherished was something Patta could empathize with. I think that's something irreplaceable, and couldn't have been done it with anyone else.

 **Lucia**

 _Main motivation:_ **Transition** , inexorable forces, opening doors, cycles, **endings**.

 _Tarot Arcana (First iteration):_ Death

 _Tarot Arcana (Final version):_ **Death**

Lucia is the most minor character in the story in terms of "screentime", but her actions permeate the whole story. It was partly thanks to her meddling that Frisk felt like they did - partly because Frisk's own decisions and emotions did the rest, if they had taken the time to think and change their mind Lucia's effect wouldn't have done anything - and led to their death. Frisk's death led to Asriel absorbing their SOUL and taking Patta into the Underground. From there Patta entered the void and turned a perfectly normal timeline into an anomaly.

Why did she do that? For no forgivable reason, that is. She just wanted a story to see.

However, her effects reincarnate the meaning of the Death arcana. She caused transitions, cycles, and at the end, gave Patta/Sisyphus the means to leave behind his past and start a new life. In turn, if Sisyphus manages to create the new timeline, everyone else in the Undertale universe would have new lives too.

As a whole Lucia has her influence everywhere. It's not _good_ , but it's not _bad_ either. It all depends on how Sisyphus and everyone else deals with the consequences of her meddling. She's just going to stand aside for the moment and see everything unfold.

But that's a thing for another story.

 **SO WHAT NOW?**

Well, there's a story in the works already. It has been in the planning stage for a few months already. Now that Overmyth is over, I'll start seeing what's there to change or correct, and in a few weeks – or a couple months - I think the first chapter will be posted. What's for sure is that I'll need time to write and plan, as usual.

It's a sequel of sorts, but no one would need to read Overmyth to be able to enjoy the new story, I think, despite Overmyth being a large part of the motivations of a few of the characters.

There's a big difference in that story, though: it's an **Undertale/Persona** crossover. Basically, it has the setting of the Undertale universe, the characters from the Undertale universe and most concepts from the Persona franchise, as well as Igor. Here's the summary:

 **Aeon:**

 _Sequel to Overmyth._

 _Thirty years. That's how long it took Sisyphus and Lucia to create a new timeline. It's the chance he had looked for to see everyone achieve the happy ending Sisyphus wanted for them. There are two problems, though:_

 _One: 'Syphus' must assume full responsibility for his actions and decisions. That's what the contract demands._

 _Two: The Barrier must be broken without using not even a single human SOUL. That's what Lucia demands._

 _There shouldn't be much of a problem when one has the power to use Personas, right?_

Unlike Overmyth, 'Aeon' takes place in the Underground, and while the events of the timeline are largely similar to what happens in many others, there are many vital changes Sisyphus –or Syphus, as he's going to be forced to be called – will have to pinpoint and discover why it happens. As you can guess, practically all the characters you can expect from an Undertale story intervene in the story. Besides them, the six SOULs feature too, as well as Igor, and two original characters (Sisyphus/Syphus and Lucia).

As to what Persona concepts it has...well, of course, it has Personas, a party of eight (humans and monsters) the battles one can expect – modified to fit a written format – character development, the Velvet Room...yeah, you get the gist...

...oh, and Social Links. There's a total of twenty-two Social Links. The majority is Undertale characters, as you may have guessed, plus the six SOULs, plus Lucia and Syphus. It isn't guaranteed any characters shown in Overmyth keep the same arcana in 'Aeon'. The Social Links are spread throughout the story, woven in a way that should allow a natural progression of characterization and the events that'll happen during the story.

The exact nature of the challenges and problems the characters will encounter will be kept under wraps until the story is posted and you see it all by yourself, but I'm reasonably confident it'll be well received, althooooough...by the plans I have right now, it seems it'd take a few chapters for things to start falling into place. 'Slow burn', is that how these things are called?

 **AND THAT'S IT**

Finally, have my heartfelt thanks for taking the time to read Overmyth. It was fun to write it, and the least I hoped to achieve with it was to create something interesting and enjoyable. Personally I think I achieved that goal!

See you in a few weeks in a new story, supposing nothing unexpected happens.


End file.
